


TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME

by Ladywolvesbayne



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, slightly AU, smexy fun without complaints
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-07-16 05:13:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7253866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladywolvesbayne/pseuds/Ladywolvesbayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SHORT STORY: He understood purpose, alright. She asked, he complied. No strings attached, that's how it was going to be... now, it's a need. She didn't want it to end up like this, but for now, this is all they have. He's not done with her yet, and he probably never will. Life is too short, even more so for a SPARTAN – Master Chief x Cortana slight AU – RATED M FOR REASONS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PART I

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART I**

 

This woman made him slightly nervous for two reasons.

Number one, she was looking at him in the eye with fearless determination; her bright blue stare was powerful enough to pin him to his chair without effort, he noticed. Number two, she was Dr. Catherine Halsey’s youngest daughter, someone he’d never been formally introduced to and never cared to meet anyway. Unlike her deceased older sister Miranda, this petite brunette woman was a praised UNSC computer scientist and she worked in some ONI base thousands of miles away.

The fact that they never met before made perfect sense.

This meeting, however, didn’t.

Perhaps that explained why this woman’s eyes made him feel cornered. He could sense Dr. Halsey’s strength inside those pupils, along with a hint of hidden mischief. That’s what made him nervous. He’d heard about her before, sure. The good Doctor mentioned her daughter rarely, when something technical came up. He didn’t know her real name because people used her codename to refer to her; in SPARTAN-Town she was known as Cortana, probably due to her cunning intelligence. The only hard evidence of such smarts that he had were the frequent firmware updates to his MJOLNIR’s inner systems. Her work was flawless.

She looked flawless too, even disguised as a civilian.

Taller -and fuller of figure- than her mother, Cortana stood a good five feet eight-or-so inches, her short black hair and the simple clothes she wore made her look like any other city girl stopping by for a cup of coffee with a friend. Except that he was on his BDUs and most certainly didn’t look like someone who could be friends with her.

He’d never been in that café before. People were trying hard not to stare, but his height and immensely strong build always called for unwanted attention.

“So, Master Chief?” she started, after a few minutes of sitting across the narrow table, right in front of him. “Thank you for coming.”

He straightened his pose a little, deadly hands relaxed over his own thighs. Her silky, deep voice touched a very sensitive fiber inside of him. Staring at her in such a professional stance was his only reply.

“I know you’re a busy man, so I’ll cut the chit-chat down to business.” Her eyes met his again, her breath slightly uneven for some reason. She looked at her coffee and continued: “I’m twenty-six years old. I graduated _summa cum laude_ from four Universities in three different solar systems over ten years. I have more awards and achievements than I can consciously count. And the truth is that I’ve been stuck… no, rotting, inside a classified ONI facility without real sunlight for over four years. I’m sick of it. Do not misunderstand me, I am deeply passionate about my research and my work, but I hadn’t had a relationship since… well, I can’t remember, honestly. It doesn’t matter, anyway. The thing is that I find myself in a tight spot right now, with a huge need that I can’t fulfill.”

The Master Chief waited in silence for her to explain her point. So far, the meeting still didn’t make any sense.

“I’m not looking for a long commitment partner. I don’t need that.” Her cheeks flushed a little. Just a little. “But I do want to have a family.”

“I suppose that’s understandable.” He commented, when her follow-up silence became too long.

His words seemed to fuel up her determination. It was a little scary.

“My mother thinks I’m crazy, that I’m going to waste my career because I can’t control myself. You know? Sometimes I think she regrets having me or Miranda… maybe because she never really understood how to be a good mother or because we got in the way and delayed her research over a decade. Well, we didn’t ask to be conceived, but I know exactly what was going on inside her mind when she got pregnant with us.” Her voice had a hint of pride stained with guilt. But he could almost smell something else, rising up inside of her gut straight to her eyes like a thunderstorm. “And she can’t say it was a mistake, because a woman can’t make that same mistake twice. I know, because I’ve been feeling the same for a while now.”

“Miss…”

“John,” she cut him off right away, this time her voice sounded fiercer. He squinted a little. Few people knew his given name, the fact that she said it out loud so carelessly set off an alarm. “ _I want a child_. And after weeks of research, I have concluded that you are the perfect mate to breed with.”

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

John shoved the discarded exo-suit inside the proper airlock and shut the thick lid with a loud thud. The noise startled Fred, who turned immediately to look at him, while the other man pushed roughly the button that read ‘disposal’ on it, staining it with a reddish print of fresh blood.

The Master Chief had a fame of being a man of few words, mostly serious and not a fan of pranks or even smiles, but this was beyond his usual self. Blue Team had perceived their team leader grumpier and although he performed all of his duties with the same precision as ever, he was sort of distracted. He spent a lot of time alone, either training or just going out of the barracks for long hours.

John wasn’t a loner by nature. He might not practice it very often, but he was fond of leaning on his team mates for support. This was odd.

“You should get that stitched.” Fred commented, rather casually.

“I’m fine.”

Fred meant the seven-inch-long open gash over John’s left side, between the hipbone and the ribs. It was dripping a red stream down his thigh. The Chief patched it up quickly with organic glue and a few adhesive bands and kept to himself, just as usual. Well, not as usual. His furrowed brow was more furrowed than the regular base to recognize him, and it wasn’t just because he got an enemy combat knife slashing through his gut.

The Lieutenant decided that it was time to poke around a little.

“Something in your mind, Chief?”

“No.” the alluded man answered quickly.

Fred stared at him while John grabbed another suit from his locker and put a foot in it.

“I call bullshit.”

“Language.” John growled. The other foot went in, the lower part of the suit went up his thighs and hips, collecting the blood. He didn’t even care to clean himself up.

“We’re not on duty right now. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

John slid his arms inside the sleeves of the suit and pulled up, covering himself with a layer of bullet-resistant leathery material and built-in circuitry. Reaching behind the small of his back, he started closing the seals. The intelligent suit did the rest as long as his hands worked their way up, pressing. Fred just kept staring at him, the top half of his own exo-suit hanging low from his bare hips. The girls liked when he did that and he knew it, now it was a habit for Fred.

“You look too stressed for it to be nothing.” The Lieutenant muttered, in the end.

The Master Chief sighed, slightly annoyed. Fine, fine.

“I have a decision to make and it’s been bugging me, that’s all.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

 _“Figured as much.”_ Fred thought, but he wasn’t mad. This part, at least, was the usual.

“Alright. Just keep in mind that I have two ears and good brains.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

Awkward silence followed. Only the distant whine of the ship’s engines disrupted it.

 _“Is as simple as that. I need viable seed.”_ Her voice rang in his skull again.

John adjusted the rest of the exo-suit’s seals as Fred went back to dig inside his locker, each to his own business now. The Chief would’ve liked better if his friend just kept asking questions that he wasn’t willing to answer… because the unnerving memories came back oh so suddenly after the heat of a small battle managed to make them go away. The café outside base, the petite brunette, her bright blue eyes, her blood ties with the good Doctor Halsey, her misbegotten idea, his own peril after hearing her out.

_“I am aware that very soon you will be deployed off-world for an estimate of six weeks. Please, take that time to think carefully of my proposition. I know how delicate are the steps in which both of us stand and believe me, I do not wish to compromise your career. I don’t require anything else from you, but your cooperation over the course of a few days. That’s all. Nobody will ever know. Not even my mother, if that worries you somehow.”_

Little by little, as the seconds went by and she spoke her reasons, her silky voice became stronger and her stance, bolder. It was as if his silence was encouraging her.

He knew why he made him nervous now. She was bat-shit crazy.

She’d been locked in a lab for so long that she had lost her mind. Choose a SPARTAN to breed a child with? What female human on her five senses would consider that? She, of all people, should know what was the deal with SPARTANS to the smallest detail. She said she had done her research, right?

She was crazy, there was no other answer. And Marines had a saying: _don’t stick your dick in crazy._ He wasn’t a fan of sticking his dick anywhere, for that matter…

Then, why?

Just...

 _“Why me?”_ he had asked, a bit uncomfortable.

 _“Well, I could’ve chosen whichever SPARTAN I wanted, since all of you are magnificent specimens. But there’s something about you. I couldn’t go past your file. My gut told me… I guess you got lucky.”_ She smiled at him briefly and her face lit up, the Master Chief knew hope when he saw it. _“It was either you or Frederic-104 anyway.”_

John quickly looked at Fred, sideways. He felt a pinch of heat inside his stomach when he recalled her confident voice saying that his combat brother was her second choice. He didn’t have any kind of problem with that, girls smiled at Fred all the time and he always smiled back, but somehow it still made him feel...

It wasn’t like he couldn’t refuse her offer, right?

He’d been doing the math, trying to figure Cortana out. She must’ve known where Blue Team was going after this allegedly classified six-week engagement: return to Earth. Then, six months of intense training duty alongside Red Team. They were commissioned to make sure that a company of fresh SPARTAN-IV assets were to grow a pair, and that they would grow it well. So, they would be on the same planet, right?

The mechanics of what she was asking for weren’t a mystery to him -it was the dullest, most underwhelming thing he could think of, almost effortless-, but everything else nearly was. Perhaps he’d have to file a request for a reasonable shore leave, or…

SPARTANS didn’t get leaves, only weeks in cryo and medals as reward. Nothing else.

Since he was a child, John had been unconsciously indulging the belief that Dr. Halsey was some sort of god-like creature: she always knew everything, it was impossible to fool her. Then, what if she found out that her daughter wanted one of her SPARTANS to father a baby for her? He bet that the good Doctor wouldn’t be happy.

He should just say no and be done with it.

The greatest disjunctive came from his grounds as a soldier, he was used to do as he was told since a very young age. Cortana had given him a choice, but to his brain it sounded like she hadn’t. He’d been thinking it the wrong way all along, only because she used the right combination of words:

 _“I know how it sounds to you, Master Chief. But I think of it as the least I could do for myself and Humanity.”_ she said back then, still looking at him straight in the eyes with relentless resolve. _“Since it’s up to me anyway, I might as well get the best DNA that I can find. The idea that I’d be gone one day and maybe there won’t be any descendant worthy of carrying on with my legacy terrifies me. Not to mention that I don’t want to be old, bitter and alone like my mother.”_

It sounded so rational. The least one could do for oneself and Humanity…

“SPARTANS, are you decent?” Commander Palmer’s voice called from the hallway.

“Yes, ma’am.” they both said in unison, and stood straight.

John hadn’t registered the event - _unforgivable_ -, but Fred was fully dressed and ready to go and get armored again, just like him. The Commander entered the room and handed the Master Chief a battle-scarred tac-pad, then she moved towards the Lieutenant and gave him another, along with a more complacent look that lately she reserved for him. The innuendo flew over John’s head without further concerns.

“Messages for you, gentlemen. Be brief, we’re leaving for _Infinity_ in ten minutes. I want you both sitting tight and strapped on in five.”  

“Thank you, ma’am.” Said Fred, a small smile reached his eyes as he looked at Palmer.

Still oblivious, John looked at the screen and tapped on it until the device asked for his clearance password. SPARTANS didn’t get a lot of traceable messages, much less emails from weird senders like _Shield &Sword-32, _the one he opened without hesitation. Nothing dangerous passed through Black Box’s filters anyway, truth be told, so he was sure that this message, although heavily encrypted and apparently nonsensical, was from her:

A FORTNIGHT IS ALL THAT REMAINS, SUMMER IS GETTING HOT

She was becoming more aggressive. Not to call her annoying, of course, but…

He made up his mind in a blink, sensing that the sooner he got rid of this situation, the better it would be for his overall focus on the work to come. His reply was brief, sharp and blunt as a gravity hammer:

I’LL BRING YOU SOME ICED WATER SOON

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Cortana read the short reply over and over, and realized it meant yes.

“He accepted.” She muttered.

 _Iced water_ , perhaps to soothe _the heat of summer_? Yeah, it pretty much sounded like he was willing to give a hand with her urges. _Urges_. She chuckled. Well, she had no proper designation for what had possessed her lately. She was aware of how problematic this was. Unlike her fellow colleagues, she decided not to be sterilized when given the option upon entering the UNSC… and now she was paying the price? Her work was far too critical to be put aside, those were times of war and ONI prioritized her program over her mother’s. The next generation of MJOLNIR and SPI armors would keep her locked in yet another underground facility only God knew where for maybe ten more years. She was the leading scientist for all R &D units; she pleaded with ONI for her civilian crew to be moved in with their families, both for protection and as an act of mercy towards them and the long years of isolation to come. Her personnel loved her for it.

And since she had no attachments, her life wouldn’t belong to her anymore.

Cortana sometimes wanted to believe that she made a mistake in pursuing a career after her mother’s steps, but that wasn’t the problem and deep down she knew it. She was proud of who she had become, of her achievements and her position amongst the ranks. This had deeper roots, a call that obviously not all women were able -or wanted- to hear… a call that had been keeping her awake, tense and unsatisfied for several months now.

117... One look at his fiery light-blue eyes and she knew she had chosen right; the DNA screening matched someone equally impressive on the outside.

He could give her what she wanted.

A child of her own, someone she could nurture, protect and love.

Maybe that way, she’d have a stronger reason to keep Humanity safe beyond ethics.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Despite the fact that he’d been expecting to get a more concrete message from Cortana soon after his return to Earth, it didn’t happen right away. It somewhat relieved him. Maybe his reply scared her and she decided to call off the whole thing. Either way, Blue Team was well set to begin the training of the S-IV company within a week now, so although John didn’t forget easily about the so-called ‘engagement’, it lost importance. It wasn’t up to him anyway.

More often than not, however, the memory of her voice and her petite frame invaded his thoughts. And what she had said about Fred, too. Was it that Cortana chose to discard him and proceed to breed that child she wanted so bad with his combat brother? No, no. Fred would’ve said something, for sure. The thought now didn’t only make his stomach twitch, it also made him slightly annoyed.

 _Cortana_. For some reason, he didn’t feel curious about knowing her real identity.

No, Cortana suited her just fine. He’d seen her in person only once, but he couldn’t think of a better name for her.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Schedules suddenly shifted when Commander Palmer announced that Blue Team would not be joining Red Team, for they had another assignment. A change of plans from upstairs. There were explicit orders from SECTION-III command that several specific SPARTANS and all of their respective equipment and belongings were to be temporarily transferred to a research facility, designation and location redacted. How long were they expected to remain on site was also redacted.  

Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117 was designated to be team leader.

John just complied. Orders were orders.

But this whole change of plans started to make more sense when he and his team, along with other six SPARTAN-III and IV descended from the Pelican that transported them to their new assignment’s grounds, a fortified facility in the middle of a mountain range. John couldn’t make out the location, their sensors were all jammed for the moment. A group of people and military personnel were waiting for them at the LZ. He spotted Cortana almost immediately; she presented herself as director of the facility and welcomed them to project MARK IX. They were there to test the new combat gear and armors in development, which was something the Master Chief found intriguing and useful.

He couldn’t wait to get answers from Cortana, though.

At that moment, comms were unblocked at last and the facility’s AI gave them briefs. After a few more recommendations, all SPARTANS were ordered to head to the area in which they would stay for the time of the evaluations.

Once inside his designated quarters, John pulled off his helmet and turned to look at her, certain that the petite brunette in lab coat had followed him all along. The woman closed the door and tapped a small display on the wall’s communications port, deactivating it, then she approached him. Standing seven feet tall before Cortana, he was a mountain that could overpower her using only his little finger… the Master Chief noticed how she shivered slightly as her eyes crept up over his powerful armored frame, until reaching his face. Her chest rose slowly, and then she sighed.

“Welcome to SHIELD base.” Cortana greeted him, content.

“What does this mean, ma’am?” he asked sharply, confused.

The woman gave him a guilty frown and smiled wryly.

“I had to make some arrangements.” she explained him, trying to soothe a temper that he didn’t have. “I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you, perhaps. We need test subjects for the new MJOLNIR Mark IX program, and that gives us a perfect excuse to be around each other. For the rest… well… I promised you that our agreement wouldn’t jeopardize your career or mine. The schedule I organized guarantees that nobody will see us.”

John frowned, even more confused.

“See us?” he repeated.

“Yes, you know…” she lowered her voice. “You leaving my quarters, me leaving yours. Or whatever. It will take at least a week, maybe two; I will be in my full peak of fertility in about ten days. We must not waste any chan--.”

The Master Chief raised a hand, cutting her off.

“Ma’am, as I understand the terms of this _agreement_ , what I have to provide are samples of reproductive material. What you are going to do with it afterwards is completely up to you and I don’t need to know the details.”

His words were polite but cold. So cold.

She felt that shudder once more, this time the coldness slid beneath her flesh. So awful, it nearly felt as if he had slapped her across the face. But it wasn’t his fault, she realized. Her eyes widened as much as her mouth, as she understood what he had just said:

“Oh.” Cortana whispered. “You thought… look, although this facility has a top-of-the-line medical bay, it’s not designed for obstetrics of any sort. Neither can I request for such equipment, because I have no need for it with the research we’re doing, it would be utterly suspicious. We make armors here.” Her voice softened a little, as one of her hands came to rest on his armored forearm. He didn’t retreat. “I should have mentioned earlier that I not only need your sperm for this procedure, but I will need you to do your part to guarantee the conception as well. The only way I can pull this off right is to make it look as natural as possible.”

The words sunk in for a few seconds…

“In other words, you want me _to sleep with you_.”

Her cheeks flushed a little. Only a little. “Yes, of course.”

John stood there in silence, just looking at her eyes as she slowly gave in to uneasiness. The longer he spent quiet, the more she felt drifting at his mercy. And it wasn’t something disgusting to feel, Cortana came to understand. She was starting to acknowledge the power this stranger had over her, even though they only met once before.

This man had something that she wanted. Several things, in fact.

On his side, the Master Chief wasn’t mad.

No, he wasn’t mad at all.

He didn’t know why, but he found himself thinking about Fred being scratched off the picture and it felt good. He could figure out the rest later.

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. PART II

_Alrighty! Here’s the next part of this… naughty monster. Remember two things: it’s kind-of an AU so don’t expect too much canon accuracy beyond general details; and if you’re not at least 18, GTFO because today’s chapter is NSFW. Let’s meet again at the end, enjoy!_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART II**

 

Cortana huffed, tired, and turned the shower on.

She was drenched in a black layer of a thick, oily substance and felt like crap. Back at the lab, the hydraulics hose of an elevator platform had given up and exploded, almost on her face. It was nearly an hour ago but she could still taste the burnt oil, because, of course, her mouth opened to scream when the loud bang happened.

Her clothes and hair were ruined. Her eyes itched.

Occupational hazard, or just plain bad luck?

Thankfully the base was made for scientific purposes over military uses. She was a very private person and always preferred to have her own living quarters equipped with all the essentials, and made sure that her personnel and their families had similar accommodations. It wasn't necessarily more efficient, true, but it was fair. Non-military personnel and their children didn't have to live the life of soldiers.

And she liked her little luxuries, that was also true.

Cortana groaned, feeling the warm water caress her skin.

She grabbed a handful of shampoo from the wall’s dispenser and put it on her hair; with soft, relaxing moves her fingers massaged her scalp and she began to relax. Laying her back against the cold wall, feeling safe in the foggy steam, she let her mind go and forgot momentarily about formulas, lines of code and mechanics…

Peace, for a few minutes.

The last two weeks had been busy for her. She was busy to the point of forcing herself to re-schedule her plans to meet privately with the Master Chief, whom she had to see for fifteen hours straight every two days. It was hard to acknowledge that desires had to wait. She was disappointed and frustrated.

Good thing that she wasn’t desperate yet.

Or maybe she was. Desperate enough to come up with such a scheme, perhaps.

She wanted her baby, true; but she also wanted sex. She could’ve had sex with any man from any other facility she’d ever have been working in,  _with any of them_ , but the moment she saw him... everything changed, for reasons she couldn't even begin to explain. She didn't know why, she only knew her insides roared every time she thought of him. Perfect match, but also a dangerous man. Risky and thrilling sounded good, but did she really want  _dangerous_  added to the mix? Someone she didn’t know at all?

To  _fuck a complete stranger_ , get pregnant and then never see him again?

Cortana accidentally dropped the soap and cursed under her breath.

As she crouched to pick up the bar, an unnervingly arousing image crossed her mind: she was on her knees, looking up, and he was staring down at her. SPARTAN-117.  _John._  His hard, clear eyes almost gleaming in the dark, waiting for her to do what she was meant to do. Then her look drifted down his torso, past South his muscular abdomen and right there before her lips, there was this bulging…

She grabbed the soap and stood up. Stupid hormones. She was about to enter her fertile days and her excitement spiked nonsensically. Drugs were off the table if she wanted to get pregnant as soon as possible, but living like this was becoming a burden. Working with him made it even worse. She had to see him half naked, she had to touch his skin, breathe in his musky, masculine scent and bear the sound of his deep, hoarse voice. Feel his natural heat, so close and appealing. And he seemed very interested in looking at her more often than not, or follow her every move.

Cortana swallowed a moan, throwing her head back. Such a specimen.

To evoke the image of SPARTAN-117’s rugged features and tall, broad, strong frame stirred demons inside of her, little demons that traveled from her belly all the way down her heated flesh and…

“Christ, not now.” She whispered, annoyed. "Can't you wait a little longer?"

This was so ridiculous. And immoral.

No,  _she_  was being ridiculous!  _Focus on the practical edge!_

Frustrated, Cortana decided for the millionth time that if she was going to do this, she might as well enjoy it as much as she could. Who would care, anyway? She proceeded to slide both of her hands down her wet skin, caressing her natural curves with deliberate delight until her fingers reached the apex of her legs and the upsetting heat nested deep within her core…

Her release came incredibly fast and left her shaking, barely standing against the wet mosaic. It felt right, good and intense, but not enough. It wasn’t enough anymore. The heat wasn't going to fade away so easily.

Cortana came out of the shower and looked at the time: 11:22 PM.

Their first meeting was about to happen, and now she was nervous. Very nervous.

Standing in front of a small mirror she placed on her desk, Cortana opened the folds of her towel and took a good look at her own reflection. Would he like this? Would he like her? The skirt she picked for the occasion, to make things easier? She knew she was pretty, but there was a difference between being sexy and feeling sexy altogether.

Another impractical thought. Why couldn’t she just be confident about herself, like Miranda used to be?

She figured he wouldn’t care, anyway. Cortana had chosen a SPARTAN to breed her a child because she knew that their range of emotional attachment was narrow and it was the safest option. SPARTANS built tight operative groups on the battlefield, but had proven to be disastrous at social or emotional skills in general. They were a bit like animals -they had been made that way-, they didn't get along very well with others outside their teams and it fit her purposes well. No need to deal with a father demanding rights over her son or daughter, because such father had better chances of dying somewhere far away from her before she could even give birth.

She felt like an ungrateful bitch for thinking like that, but it was a good reasoning. It was the best reasoning she could come up with.

Practical, just the way her mother liked it.

No strings attached meant no trouble, Cortana's little family would be _only hers_.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

John read the schedule that Cortana had given him, twice.

She was quite obsessive about her work, really, a true perfectionist. The document was the greatest evidence of it, both impressive and almost insane: every date had a little map attached, and he was supposed to meet her only following the exact route displayed on the maps. She said that  _if he did it right nobody would know_ , and he assumed she had taken care of all the cameras, microphones, heat sensors and patrolling personnel. Perhaps the most impressive feature of this twisted plan was the fact that she gave him a folder full of  _printed sheets_  that he had to memorize and burn afterwards.

Real paper. He owned a few books, relics collected from dead worlds, but this...

It was both a luxury and an absurdity.

When he finally managed to get over the actual paper part, John focused on every detail of the schedule and memorized it, just as she commanded. He made all the associations that only a mind raised and trained for war could make without even thinking about it. Never the same route twice. They were to have eight encounters during the course of the next fourteen days, each on a different location and at a different time. No location or time was used twice. Nowhere close to any living quarters. Fifteen minutes tops.

He didn’t need -or want- to know the whys, he just had to comply.

Evidently, a coherent explanation was out of his ability to process it, but his mind kept nagging him into try and understand her.

Over the past few days, while that mummery about the armor testing was going on (it was a real thing, but he couldn't help himself and think that it was just a show to maintain appearances), he studied her closely. Cortana might or might have not noticed it. He caught in the way she tied up her short hair in a small bun, exposing the back of her neck just above the clean collar of her lab coat. On how she stood by his side, arms crossed and all thoughtful whenever something unexpected happened with the equipment. How she bit and chewed on the end of the straws she used on her drinks. He didn't miss the way she looked at him, or how she licked her lower lip before talking to him. The soft touch of her fingers. Her sweet yet somewhat dominant voice.

And he certainly didn't miss how Cortana bent over the desks and robotic tool trays to grab stuff, more often than not... she had some nice hips, alright. Childbirth wouldn't be a problem, but she probably knew that already.

It had been far too long since Parisa and the last time he spent some quality time with a woman. Since he never really worried about that aspect of his life to begin with, he didn't know very well where to pin the blame for his intense need to overthink this situation with Dr. Halsey's daughter. He didn't have a naughty side, that he truly knew of.

Or did he?

A very small, almost wry smile forced itself on the Master Chief's lips.

They barely talked to each other aside from the simulation questionnaires, true, but John noticed that she was prone to speak to him more than what she spoke to Fred, and that was pleasing. There were no evident answers there and to be honest, he wasn't fully aware of what it all meant; but his deepest instinct knew very well. She was interested in him, very much.

Until the daily reality check happened, just in time:

_'She doesn't really want **you**.'_

Of course. He knew what she wanted.

He was okay with that, at least, with his part of the job. That was easy.

He wasn't the ladies man, that was Fred; and this was a mission and it had a procedure to be followed. John made up his mind and tossed the folder with all those pretty printed pages into the open mouth of the laboratory's incinerator, closing the airlock just as the paper caught fire. Phase one, accomplished. Now it was time to move into phase two, to meet with Cortana at the first specified location. Piece of cake.

In the meantime, he only had to think that this woman chose him over Fred to feel the blood rushing where it was needed the most, very quickly. Better shape up.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

She was well acquainted with his psych-profile, so she wasn't worried about a desertion.

What she wasn't expecting was to see him emerge from the shadows without a single warning, so silent and quick like a predator. Well, the power on that area had been diverted on purpose, what was she expecting? A call? They were surrounded by the amber glow of emergency lights, she could barely see him. It was perfect, kind of pathetically romantic. Cortana swallowed hard and cleared her throat to speak, her heart pounding quickly in her chest, but the Master Chief placed a finger over his own lips.  _Quiet_.

She understood. After a brief hesitation he moved closer, so close that his heat irradiated on her; Cortana felt her cheeks on fire.

Meeting in one of the gyms' locker rooms to have sex felt so stupid. So childish. She was SHIELD base's chief scientist, probably the most powerful person on this side of this galaxy, commander of the entire facility...

It didn't feel so stupid when their eyes met and after a brief pause, they nodded at the same time acknowledging the other's approval.

_Here I am. Let's get down to business._

It was happening fast. Too fast, she hadn't expected him to be so straightforward. She didn't remember reading about indicators of this kind of behavior, but she wasn't going to complain either. Cortana made the first, tentative move and reached out to press the tips of her fingers on his chest, feeling the plain white t-shirt. He did what seemed more natural and placed both of his large hands on her hips, jerking her closer. For an outsider it was fairly evident that she was caught a little off guard, but Cortana pushed all pride, prejudice and morality aside in the blink of an eye and hurried to squeeze her body onto his. Rock hard and so hot, even through those layers of cloth.

John's palms went up her frame and she felt his thumbs drawing the underside of her breasts, from the center of her chest to the outside. She held back a moan and tried to remain focused, but her mind went blank.

Desire and the pulsating heat between her legs took over.

It felt right. It felt so right, so good.

Her breaths became heavy, her hands desperate. She grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled up, the Master Chief complied and removed it with a swift movement. Cortana bit her lower lip when her palms roamed the hardened surface of his abdomen, going down towards the waistline of his dark-gray pants, undoing the fly. He didn't move when she slid a hand inside, further down, and grabbed what she wanted in a tight grip.

Well, yes. He winced a little. Nobody liked to be so vulnerable.

Cortana looked at his face and smirked. No underwear to be found.

"Clever boy." she said, with a voice that didn't seem hers.

So warm. Not fully hard yet, alright, but promising.

_Very promising._

A few soft strokes of her hand were enough to change the expression on his face and that pleased her. Cortana knew very well every single inch of his impressive physiology -her mother's files about the most renowned SPARTAN alive were  _extremely_... some would say  _disturbingly_  detailed- but to finally have the pleasure of seeing and feeling it all by herself was making her lightheaded. She felt slightly drunk. It was better that way, right? To shut down the scientist for a few minutes.

To let go and be just a female under possession of a male.

... or was that the only meaning behind this, behind her choice and her plan?

She lost trail of her own thoughts when the flesh under her control responded with a snarky twitch and he growled under his breath. John's hands shifted to her shoulders and pushed back, forcing the woman to step away from him. Cortana gasped and her eyes went wide when her ass bumped against the twenty-foot-long stainless-steel sink attached to the wall. She swallowed a little scream when John took a hold of her waist and lifted her until her ass was effectively resting over sink, the distance between their eyes now shortened by ten inches or so. She spread her legs without further request and when he took his place amongst them, Cortana was already pulling down his clothes.

Blessed sink, it was at the perfect height. She couldn't have designed it better herself.

As John's hands clawed at her hips, careful not to bruise her flesh too much, she was already working on him. The hitches of his breath were kicking Cortana's adrenaline like nothing ever did. She was so excited now, so anxious to see that dam breaking, that her own body almost couldn't take it anymore.

Who would say that anticipation would arouse her this much?

In a rushed move, the Master Chief leaned in towards her, aiming for her face.

Cortana pushed back immediately, hitting the back of her head with the mirror.

"No." she said, in a harsh whisper. "That's not allowed."

The cold blue of his eyes seemed to flicker under the amber lights.

"Elaborate." he demanded, although he knew he had no right to question a CO.

She immediately placed both of her hands on his chest, as if she were to stop him; her face turned into a stony reflection of annoyance.

"I don't want you to kiss me. That's not part of the deal, I just want you to..."

"You want me  _to fuck you_." he completed the sentence when her voice trailed off.

Cortana swallowed hard, trying to ignore the bolt of desire that ran up and down her spine at the sound of those blunt and rough words. She sensed how her own unspoken response affected him in the way John snuck his hands under her skirt all the way up her trembling thighs. No underwear either, she was well prepared. The contact of his calloused fingers on her pretty porcelain skin was exhilarating.

She had been raised amongst cotton-balls, never a single scratch; he grew up to take destiny in his hands and die trying to make the Universe safer. Such powerful image of virility and pride.

Yes, she wanted him to be the one to fuck her, so much. So damn much.

"Yes, if you prefer simpler terms, that's the essence of..."

The Master Chief grimaced a little. "I can smell it on you."

The pounding of her heart quickened. Yes, she knew he could. Enhanced senses.

"What do you smell, Master Chief?" she pushed a little forward, balancing her weight over the edge of the steel sink.

He proved his point by sneaking his thumb between the swollen and wet folds hidden at the joint of her open legs. Cortana bit her lower lip again, this time to a painful level, just to avoid crying out his name by accident. Power? Over her? Yeah, right.

"You don't want to be taken lightly." he observed. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have picked yourself someone like me."

"As I'm sure I've said it before, I prefer fire-proof DNA. Yours is the best. I thought we went over this already, Chief."

His stare now had a hint of humor in it. His thumb, however, didn't stop moving.

She wasn't sure how much more she could endure -and enjoy- the ministrations.

"Of course." he grunted, after a few seconds. "Ready?"

"I don't know what's taking you so long, actually." she whispered back, bitterly.

That answer seemed to irritate him, Cortana felt the muscles of his chest tense up under her touch. Her heart skipped a beat, the last thing she wanted was to make a SPARTAN angry, there was a huge recollection of reasons why one should never do that unless one had a death-wish. Well, it was his fault, how dare he to treat her like this? He should know better, she outranked him by many, many stars without being necessarily on the military payroll.

That thought made her feel like an ungrateful bitch again, for some reason.

"Alright, ma'am." he complied, not amused.

The Master Chief took the initiative for her, sliding two very confident fingers along her core to take some of her dripping moisture.

Cortana took in a quick, rushed breath.  _So good._

She trembled when his hands slid away from her hips towards her backside and pushed her lower body forward, until she felt the unexpected heat of his manhood right where she needed it the most. He pressed and rubbed the tip against her entrance a few times, she fought to keep her sanity in check but her eyes threatened with rolling to the back of her skull. Those jolts of pleasure were insane, she almost couldn't wait for the rest to come. For a second Cortana didn't know what to do with her legs, but her first instinct was to guide him inside of her, so her own hands rushed to find his cock.

When he finally pushed in, his eyes never leaving her face to study her reaction, she stopped breathing for a few seconds. To freeze that moment in time, to remember it later when the deal was over...

Yes, perhaps it would be worth to remember.  

With some genuine care, he moved her arms to rest atop his broad shoulders and held her as close as possible. Cortana's hands immediately took a hold of the nape of his neck, itchy fingers scratching the short dark hair within reach. When her body stopped squirming around his shaft, John pushed all the way in at once, burying himself within the depths of her wet and hot core, and she muffled a scream by hiding her face onto his chest. Cortana recovered control of her lungs only to breathe in the scent of his skin, making her head even lighter.

"Move. Please, move. I need you to..." she started, her voice broke at the end.

The Master Chief attempted to draw back, but...

She was so tight, her insides were already twitching a little.

She wouldn't last long. He wasn't sure of how much would he last, in fact, surrounded by the intoxicating scent of this female in heat. The sole thought of how much tighter she would become within a few minutes almost sent John over the edge, excited by the idea of a mission successfully accomplished.

Well, some things were easier to handle when made simple. Step by step.

He leaned over her, careful not to come any closer to her face so she wouldn't back off again, and sneaked an arm around her body to hold her in place. The other hand went to one of her legs, and she was now a little more relaxed. John tried to leave her again and this time he slid out easily, only to pump himself back in slowly but building in speed with every thrust.

She had the intention of keeping it quiet, but it was too much to bear.

Cortana hid her face on his neck, pressing her mouth tightly against his throat to avoid screaming out loud, but it was really happening. She could feel it, the girth and length of his manhood diving in and out. The invasion she was so happily allowing felt amazing. Her body stretching naturally to receive him, his member hitting the depths of her womb, the delightful friction and slapping of flesh against flesh, that tingling sensation growing stronger deep into the nest of very sensitive nerves. The release was closer and closer every time his hips collided with hers.

"Yes." she moaned, her teeth grazing dangerously his throat. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Her cries of pleasure didn't take long to emerge, and hearing her puff out the words and the sensual noises so close to his ear only made it worse for the Master Chief. At this rate he would orgasm before her and...

And that was a mission failure or not? He couldn't tell. So confusing.

John let go of the woman and grabbed the edges of the steel sink to find a better angle and pound deeper inside her. Cortana cried something unintelligible and her grip on his neck tightened, her legs were now clamped around his waist. She was enjoying it so far, it was better than anticipated. Every inch of her screamed for that release she craved with so much desperation. Sweat drenched them both, with the power diverted from that area the only remaining active system was life support and not the air conditioner.

The mess of fluids between their bodies started to drip on the floor.

"Come on, Chief!" she moaned again, her voice ragged. "I'm so close, so...!"

_She should've kept it quiet._

After such heated words, he couldn't hold it anymore. Half of his body froze and the other half kept moving, slamming and grinding against her exposed entrance. His hips buckled as his seed spilled into her, his member twitching and throbbing for long seconds until he was drained, and the sensation returned to his nerves. She was too lost in her own enjoyment to realize what just happened, until he groaned and huffed a long sigh.

John's head hung low over the woman's chest, without touching her.

Cortana relaxed her legs a little, but didn't let him go. She was looking at the sweaty man still caught within the grip of her body with eyes wide and confused.

"You came." she said, as-a-matter-of-factly.

He nodded, without looking up. "It's done."

Cortana was furious. Done?

DONE? No, it wasn't done, she didn't even...!

The fists she had clenched without noticing relaxed when she understood that this wasn't his fault either. She had commended him a job, he complied. He just gave her seed to breed a child. One plus one equals two, and she should've known that this could happen. Why was she expecting empathy from a subject that had a history of deficiency in that area, just like the rest of his comrades?

John wasn't moving yet, although his breath was almost back to normal.

She felt disappointed, alright, but looking on the brightside...

"Fine, now get off me, please." she said, cold but polite.

"Just a minute." he gasped, still without looking up.

Cortana caressed the back of his neck, absentmindedly, for about two more minutes. The Master Chief straightened his pose and grabbed her hips again -causing her another of those spikes of pleasure that would be left unsatisfied for the time being- and took a step away from her. The feel of his semen now dripping out of her body made her consider this not as a failure, but as an acceptable result.

She forced herself to smile, and calculated that the whole thing had lasted less than twelve minutes. Also within acceptable limits.

Wait, was it...? Did he feel pressured because of the schedule?

That was something she had to look into, perhaps.

He was already dressed up again and helped her to come down from the sink, not before she folded the length of her skirt between her legs to prevent more undesired dripping. The lab coat was long enough to cover it and she would walk funny until reaching her quarters -this part of the procedure needed some refinement as well-, but it was the best she could do under the circumstances.

Cortana was lost in her thoughts when she started parting ways from him.

"Ma'am." the Master Chief called, before she went too far.

The woman gave him a curious look over her shoulder.

"No debriefing?" he asked, mildly confused.

She cleared her throat. "No need, Chief. You did well. Let's move to the next stage, do you remember the schedule?"

He tilted his chin up, proud.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Then I'll see you there."

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_Well, that was fast, wasn’t it? It didn’t take me forever to get them together this time LOL, but wait… this doesn’t mean there won’t be slow burning for what’s to come. Don’t worry, just be patient. Things are going to get hot; this was just round one, they have another seven sessions to improve… if you catch my drift *wink-wink* and Cortana most certainly has a lot of ideas to make the most out of her experience. I’m not sure when I will be able to update this story again, so follow or fav it if you don’t want to miss anything!_

_Still working with RECOMPOSE, though. I said 5-6 or 7 chapters left, that still stands; I’m trying to get them done all at once so I can post them weekly again until the end, like it used to be. I think it’s the fairest option so you won’t have to bear it with me for so long again. I hope this is okay, it’s what works for me right now._

_Anyway, don’t be shy and say something! Your feedback makes my day! *purrs*_


	3. PART III

_Hey there, people! Seems like we have a few interested in this story! That makes me happy... unless you're all less than 18, in which case I will get really mad. You know, if you're not at least 18, GTFO because this story, aside from being sort-of an AU, it's not appropriate for underage readers. See you at the end for more crazy, now enjoy!_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART III**

 

Their heavy breaths were mixing together, their mouths just a few millimeters apart from each other. She felt tempted to lean in and brush her lips on his, for a brief moment. Maybe even to bite him, to make him wake up and attack. Her skin suddenly bloomed in goose-bumps. No. _No kisses_ , no matter how appetizing the idea might seem. Her head immediately shot back far enough to catch a glimpse of his steely blue eyes and study his serious expression; he seemed lost in thought.

The Master Chief grinded his hips onto hers one last time, pushing deep.

Cortana swallowed a moan. That felt so good, but it was so late.

He came and she didn't, yet again. She considered useless to get mad at this point.

Her legs, spread and relaxed, rested tangled around his waist as he rode the last few waves of his own release, his hands firmly pressed down on the table so he wouldn't crush her with his colossal weight. Cortana's hands rubbed up and down his ribs and the back of his neck, as soft as the touch of butterflies. Now she was lost in her own thoughts as well, trying to figure out what was going through his mind.

Definitely a machine, there was no emotion there.

He fucked her almost mechanically, not even a sound other than his hitching breath.

Well, that was good, right? Male individuals didn't need to be bound by emotions to execute their reproductive functions: if they were offered, they would comply. Female individuals were sometimes falsely convinced by the idea that they needed to be connected somehow to their partners to engage in sexual activities. Cortana had such thoughts from time to time, but when it came to her baby, she had managed to distance herself from any sort of romantic needs.

She didn't need love, she needed sex to get pregnant. It was very simple.

Their eyes met for one brief moment before he pulled out to get back on his feet.

"Thank you." she said, her voice wary. "That would be all, Master Chief."

Cortana held her stare, but he looked away almost immediately and nodded.

"Ma'am." he grunted, clearing his throat.

She closed her legs as he put his t-shirt back on. It was done.

And it felt as empty -perhaps even _sordid_ \- as the previous two meetings.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

_PROJECT NOTES - APR. 7, 2558_

_STAGE ONE, THIRD SESSION_

_Primary objective not accomplished yet._

_Secondary objective accomplished within schedule. No irregularities._

_NOTES: No improvement either. He seemed distracted._

_"I almost felt embarrassed."_ she thought, abruptly halting the dance of her fingers over the keyboard. Her lips tensed, forcing herself to acknowledge the truth. _"No. It actually makes me feel embarrassed."_

Cortana sat back on her chair and sighed.

The first time she accepted it within logic and tried to keep on planning from there, thinking that she could still get off on her own. The second time she fooled herself thinking that she was better prepared and failed anyway. Now, the third time made the more evident that she wasn't giving the right directions, as much as she hated to admit that she'd been wrong. His silence made her want to scream. At this point -a few hours after, when her head was cool enough- her instinct was metaphorically twisting her arm behind her back, forcing her into let the pride go and admit it:

This was not what she wanted.

This embarrassment she felt was evident proof of her inner struggle.

_But what struggle?_

Yes, he fulfilled the duty she had commended him. He said even less than the first two times. He met her on time, he waited for her approval and then propped her on a table, he touched her in ways that made her feel that one or two things might have changed, he fucked her, then he left her alone when she dismissed him. She decided not to rely entirely on the Master Chief and took matters on her own hands, but not her fingers weren't quick enough. The spell broke just before she could manage anything, then he let himself go and released the precious seed she ultimately wanted...

To see him like that made her insides shiver and twist, craving that pleasure.

So disappointing. So unsatisfying.

She had been sleeping awfully. No nightmares or hot dreams, just restless sleep.

Her body needed the release, but not just the orgasm -which she could manage herself just fine, in any case-; she needed the explosive chemistry of their flesh combined. It scared her to understand that she'd been all by herself for so long that she probably craved the sensation of being with this man more than any other thing. Perhaps she wanted him even more than this baby she so much desired to conceive.

So, this was her struggle? She was using him _because she felt lonely_?

Ridiculous, there were no attachments whatsoever between them!

The thought made her particularly cranky as a way to disguise the embarrassment that invaded her, again. It was not funny at all being torn like this: bitter feelings of fulfillment, since her goals were getting closer; and a revolting desire to punch the Master Chief on the face for leaving her like that, without relief. In any case, she had come to understand that it was up to her to get what she wanted, even if it meant admitting to him that she'd made a mistake. It was killing her inside. She didn't even know where to start.

She also didn't stop to consider that he probably didn't even care about this issue.

 _"I have to speak to him."_ Cortana decided, as she logged off her encrypted computer, put her white lab coat on and took her digital key. Then she exited her quarters and locked the door, leaving towards the tram that should take her to the workshop. Long day ahead and her mind was quickly slipping away into work-related subjects, better make a choice before all the good space on her thoughts were occupied with calculations and stuff. _"He doesn't have to kiss me, but he can do so many other things that would make me feel..."_

Just... just feel. That was all.

She frowned and sighed again, walking faster now.

A few minutes before sitting down to make her notes, she had performed on her urine a very basic pregnancy test, which came out negative. Cortana knew that it was too early to get any good results, but the anxiety got her first. Perhaps, because if the primary objective was accomplished early, she wouldn't have to feel like this for wanting him so much.

Wow. It seemed like ages ago when she was so confident and excited about her plan.

Now a part of her was seriously considering to quit...

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

It was always such an immense pleasure to see the Spartans in action. They were swift and precise, their unspoken coordination and brutal efficiency combined with the expertise of their every move were mesmerizing. To the eye of the civilian, they didn't seem human; but to the trained eye of those who had created them and dressed them with their battle suits, the Spartans were much more than an incredible show of might and iron-will; the culmination of many hopes and dreams. They were the embodiment of pride and hope.

She enjoyed these exercises, to a certain extent.

Cortana was very proud of her work, and understood why her mother thought of those Spartans as her own children -the fruit of her mind- in some twisted way. Cortana liked to see her work in action as well.

She slurped lazily on the straw of her beverage and then paused to make a quick note, watching with patience the exercises on the training floor, below her deck. The simulation came to an end and reset the whole scenario while the Spartans went back to their original positions. The Master Chief was leading the pack, as usual. His place was to be the first, and that idea pleased Cortana because it endorsed her choice even more. This time, the test consisted in non-scripted combat sequences -both armed and unarmed- meant to measure the response of the spinal prosthetics that one day would become the backbone of the whole MJOLNIR Mark IX. So far, it was going good. The Spartan's neural implants seemed to communicate with the spinal prosthetics just fine for now, but this wasn't an extreme stress situation. That would come later on.

Cortana's eyes followed John's back the entire time, thinking hard. And trying _not to think_ about other hot stuff. Boy, she was so distracted. She didn't acknowledge Veta Lopis standing beside her until the short brunette woman spoke:

"Your mother sure has a good eye."

Startled, Cortana almost yelped.

"Agent Lopis. Good morning."

"Morning." the ONI operative said, sipping from her disposable cup half-full of coffee. "How are our assets doing today?"

Thinking fast, Cortana focused on a random subject: "Well, Sierra-104 is performing exceedingly good, as always. The SPARTAN-II commandos are the best we could get for this test, perfect subjects. No operative from any other generation of SPARTANS does as well as them, I'd say not even the IIIs." she cleared her throat, acting natural. "I presume that's what you meant when you said my mother has a good eye?"

Lopis smirked suspiciously. "Amongst other things."

"Such as?"

"The Lieutenant is kind of cute."

Cortana grimaced. "Agent Lopis..."

"A real charmer, also."

"Veta." Cortana's warning sounded quite assertive this time. She placed her cup on the console, carefully. "That is very unprofessional."

Unprofessional of an ONI spook, she meant to say. Veta sensed the subtext very well and chose to let it go. They've been working together for nearly eight months but Cortana didn't know her that well, after all.

The agent shrugged. "I regret nothing. Neither should you."

"What do you mean now?" Cortana rolled her eyes.

This morning the problem wasn't with the equipment or the test results, which were all more than perfect; it was her. It was official: she was so frustrated that it poured out of her usually very professional and polite manners. Cortana could think that keeping her focus on work made her dissatisfaction go away, but it really didn't.

"Sierra-117 is not my type, but boy, I can totally see why you're so into him." Lopis' wry smile crept up the corners of her mouth, shamelessly. Scandalized, Cortana wanted to speak up but words didn't come out, so the agent added: "Oh, please. Don't give me that innocent look, I bet everyone knows about the major crush you have on him. Can't blame you either."

Although Cortana's face had run white, on the inside she felt a wave of relief. Crush, huh? How much would it cost to keep an ONI agent quiet, if someone were to find out her dirty experiment? But no, Lopis had no idea of what was _really_ going on, apparently. If blackmail would've been the real target, she wouldn't have been so nonchalant and public about it. Perhaps the agent was just joking.

So Cortana followed along:

"Oh." she cleared her throat, harshly. "Well, that's…"

Lopis cocked an eyebrow, watching down. "He's not handsome as the LT, let's face it. But I'm sure he's very interesting in other ways."

Cortana sighed.

"Of course he is. He is a legend."

"Oh, so you truly are into him." Lopis laughed and punched Cortana on the arm, very softly, but with a complicity that Cortana didn't really like. Veta and her weren't buddies. She had no buddies. She had no friends _at all_ , for that matter. Period. "I mean, I get it. You said it yourself, the man is a legend. His record speaks volumes about the quality of warrior he is, that's a huge turn on. But don't mind me, I promise I won't get in your way; I like my cavemen a little more spirited..." the agent noticed Cortana's sharp look of annoyance and trailed off, then frowned. "Oh, please, don't take it personal, I'm just messing with you. You're always so uptight..."

Cortana suppressed the impatient expression.

"I guess I am, huh?." she said, in the end.

Lopis gave her a radiant, guilty smile. "I didn't mean to offend you, Miss Halsey."

"You didn't, I can take a joke." Cortana picked up her data-pad and pointed down, to the training floor, with a very open and inviting hand. "Since you are _so into_ the Lieutenant, care to join me and take a closer look on him? I could introduce you both, if you like. He's quite… spirited, as you just said."

Now it was Lopis' turn to feel the blood flee her face and then rush back, making her blush and feel very hot, but she hid it well. She stood still and blinked fast a few times, very surprised. A joke was a joke, alright, but enough was also enough. She straightened her pose and shook her head.

"I don't think I have clearance for that."

Cortana drew an overly gentle smile on her lips.

"Oh, but I do. I can get you a visitor's pass to the training floor. The hydraulics clearly need some adjustments, and well, I can always use a pair of extra hands. You know, to hold tools for me. What do you say, agent Lopis?"

"You mean...?"

Cortana nodded. "I mean it. Follow me."

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The Master Chief had noticed that something wasn't quite right.

He probably wasn't very educated about emotional responses, but he wasn't that much of a stupid either; something was going on with Cortana. He noticed it especially in the way she avoided eye contact with him during breakfast, pretty much since last night when they met on a secluded recreational area. Their third session had been successful as well as the others, from his point of view.

So, should he be worried about this sudden change on her attitude?

Why should he, anyway? He was following her orders.

Orders he was increasingly eager to keep complying with, he realized.

Now she was crossing the floor along with a short and petite brunette woman he'd seen before around base's grounds, one special ONI agent Veta Lopis. Everyone knew that ONI meant surveillance and that this Lopis woman was probably sent by SECTION III to keep an eye on the precious Spartans. He didn't care about that. His eyes followed Cortana as she walked to the other end of the simulation arena where she met Fred and Linda, who were on the ‘enemy' team for this non-scripted exercise. Cortana held a data-pad but she wasn't working, obviously. She was just chatting with Fred.

Cortana pointed at Lopis and Fred saluted, then offered her his hand; the ONI woman corresponded his greeting very quickly but she looked a bit concerned. Linda did the same, acknowledging the presence of the agent with a sharp salute, yet they did not exchange other greetings. Lopis forgot about Linda almost immediately, her smart brown eyes and slightly sly smile were focused on Fred.

John somewhat felt the need to roll his eyes, but he didn't.

However, he did notice the way Cortana smiled when Fred said something, probably something funny -he had a talent to deal with people, especially women-. A moment later Cortana spoke, Fred turned his back to her and she spent a few minutes tinkering with his spinal prosthetics. Linda just stood there, still as a statue. Fred must've said another funny thing because this time Lopis laughed discreetly. Cortana emerged from behind Fred's back and gave him one big, radiant and warm grin as she patted his muscular arm.

John frowned a little.

She looked his way, and by accident their eyes met. Her stare grew cold.

Then Cortana excused herself and started working on Linda's prosthetics, as Lopis and Fred kept chatting. John imitated Kelly's actions when he noticed she was checking her tac-pad, reading the performance statistics of the previous exercise.

He pretended to be focused on the data, but when Cortana's sweet scent of standard issue soap and female in heat drifted his way, John felt every muscle on his body tighten like a twisted rope. A quick glance her way, and the Master Chief immediately noticed that Fred was now serious and also staring at Cortana, as the woman was busy picking up tools with her back turned to him. That sent a wave of unpleasant heat down the Chief's spine, because Veta Lopis was talking but Fred wasn't paying attention to her. It was as if the short ONI brunette suddenly had ceased existing.

"Do you smell that?" Kelly murmured, distractedly.

"Smell what?" John snapped, as he kept an eye on the other side of the training floor.

"Never mind, perhaps it's just the scent of civilians. I've never been surrounded by so many of them, it confuses me."

John just grunted something.

Instead of looking away, the Master Chief kept staring when Cortana came his way.

Oh, good. She was getting away from Fred. For some reason, he felt better.

But that's when the belated tragedy that Cortana warned the technicians about finally happened. After a loud bang, a thin rain of black, stinky oil started to fall down from the tall ceiling of the facility. Then there was a deafening screech of metal. A few days ago, one of the hydraulic platforms had a malfunction that caused a hose to break and spray a bunch of people -Cortana included- with fluid. That same platform was fixed, alright, but apparently it was old enough to be decommissioned already, because another two hoses couldn't stand the pressure and gave up under the heavy weights lifted about thirty feet over the training floor...

John knew _he would never be_ fast enough to protect her.

His eyes grew wide as the huge mass of metal and crates came crashing down, directly over Cortana. She stopped dead and screamed, paralyzed with fear. Veta Lopis, Fred and Linda raced straight towards her, they were closer at the moment. Fred lunged forward, selflessly. John and Kelly did the same, the latter one running as fast as she could; then she dropped to one knee and skidded the rest of the way until she caught Cortana. It would be useless anyway, from John's perspective. It was too late.

The Master Chief struggled to stop, his instinct compelled him to avoid get crushed.

The impact echoed across the ground floor, hitting the arena loud and hard enough to be confused with a small bomb. Then there was a lot of screaming -other technicians, most likely- and a siren started to blare, the lights dimmed to a sickening yellow and pulsed in unison with the siren. John didn't let the fear take over, he ran to the pile of broken crates and twisted metal, struggling to move onward across the growing puddle of oil. He quickly found an opening amongst the bent irons and felt the spinal prosthetics tense up against his skin and bone, doing what they were meant to do. The Master Chief grabbed a rod and pulled up, without even noticing that he was trying to move several tons of debris.

 _It moved_. He could feel and hear his combat siblings breathing heavily, somewhere.

They were alive. They were alive!

He sniffed blood, as well. His heart was pounding loud in his ears, out of control. John pulled up again, grinding his teeth until he heard his teeth creak, and the pile finally moved. He managed to see something through an opening between two broken crates: Fred was on his knees protecting Cortana and agent Lopis with his body, supporting the weight of the platform on his shoulders and back... he also saw Kelly's strong legs, propped up between Fred's shoulders to help him hold position.

"Fred!" the Chief barked "Talk to me!"

"We're fine!" the Lieutenant replied. "We could use some help!"

"Hang in there!"

There was one way to get them out. The Chief pulled as the rest of the trapped Spartans pushed, working together they managed to move the debris as much as to break an opening big enough for Linda to crawl out, dragging the ONI agent and the scientist with her. Both Lopis and Cortana were unconscious, the latter had blood on her face and looked very pale. John's heart skipped a few beats when his eyes fell over her. He felt fear, but it had nothing to do with the possibility to fail his mission if this woman died. Between the deafening blare of the alarm and his own unnoticed despair, the Master Chief didn't see the medical personnel approach until they took the injured women away. He just felt Linda's body heat when she slid back into the hole and used one of her strong shoulders to push, propping herself between his clenched hands. Thanks to her help, John was able to shift positions and slide his own shoulder under the rods as well, to bench press the massive weight beside his combat sister.  

"One of them won't make it." she panted. "The debris will collapse and kill whoever is left behind. It's too heavy."

"They will be fine." the Chief swore, angry. "On my mark!"

He started counting down but the alarm stopped blaring and the light became white again. Disoriented, John looked around. The noisy siren was replaced by loud robotic thuds approaching quickly, until a large articulated silhouette broke between the almost blinding lights of the training floor.

Linda sighed and chuckled in relief, but her strength didn't falter.

One of the technicians had bought in one of the utility Mantis', to save the day.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The activities on that sector of the base were suspended for the rest of the day.

There was a team cleaning up the wrecked scene and Spartans 117, 104, 087 and 058 were dismissed to recover from their multiple bruises and light injuries. John, Linda and Kelly made a quick stop by the Chief Medical Officer's office, they were pretty much in one piece unlike Fred, who had to lie under observation for forty-eight hours due to several sprained muscles. He wouldn't be back on training or testing for a while and yet it didn't seem to affect him. Agent Veta Lopis only had a bump on her head, so she was dismissed after a few tests... but in the end she chose to stay and keep Fred company. John wished he could understand what was going on there. He was pretty sure it had something to with Fred's somewhat idiot smile.

Cortana's status, however, did not allow any visitors.

That's why the Master Chief was so surprised when he was summoned to see her. John was having dinner with Linda and Kelly at the moment. If Cortana was well enough to send messages, she probably wasn't so badly injured.

When the automatic door closed behind him, the Chief found some relief.

Cortana was lying on a white bed, inside a white room and her face looked almost as white as the sheets; her dark hair contrasting against the brilliance of the walls. Her bright blue eyes found him and she gave him a soft smile, the second thing John noticed was the small patch of bandage on her forehead.

"Master Chief." she greeted him, her voice was a bit hoarse.

"Ma'am." he saluted, respectfully. "You wanted to see me."

"Yes. Please, come closer." Cortana invited him and he complied, stepping beside her bed. It was close enough for him to stretch his fingers a little and grab her hand. The thought made him actually want to do it, but his discipline was exemplary and he resisted this strange urge. The woman tapped on the data-pad lying on the shelf beside the bed, deactivating the room's sensors, and then spoke: "These recent events are most definitely a setback for the schedule. I called you here to speak about it."

He figured it had something to do with their secret activities, yes. He'd been thinking about that.

"How long will you remain under medical care?"

"A few days, at most; I am fine, but not so fine as to go back to work right away." she said, her lovely face was a pale mask of seriousness. "So, the next _meeting_ scheduled for tomorrow night is obviously cancelled. And as a matter of fact, after doing some thinking I have decided that the whole schedule will be put on stand-by until further notice."

That took him by surprise. Put the schedule on stand-by?

John wanted to ask why, but he chose not to. He sensed that Cortana would give him an explanation anyway.

"I need to revisit vital points of the procedure." she ended up saying, in a rush. "After all, I designed this experiment based on several assumptions that are proving to be wrong. Trial and error, you know how this is. I made some poor choices, sort of speaking."

Choices. Poor choices, huh?

Wait. Wait...

Did she mean that she made the wrong choice _with him_?

Confused, John began: "Is it...?"

"It has nothing to do with your performance." she spat back, quickly.

He sensed she was lying and deep into the back of his mind, a small alarm set off. There was one thing the Master Chief was more afraid of than the Flood -that parasitic alien menace that was decimating the far corners of the galaxy-, and it was _failure_. He couldn't conceive failure, he had been trained to succeed at any cost. If there was hope and a way, he would succeed. Spartan-117 was ready to give up his life for the mission, and although this little mission had nothing to do with a life-threatening danger, the perspective of failing disturbed him. Deeply.

Almost immediately, it all fell on its place. _The accident_. Of course. Fred had saved Cortana and agent Lopis from possibly certain death, mostly because he was closer to them than John himself was. Yes, Linda and Kelly helped as well, but Fred was a healthy Spartan male, not them. Fred had been from the beginning Cortana's second choice for a breeding partner if John happened to refuse her proposition.

And by protecting her so effectively, Fred had proven to be a better mate.

It was none of his business, but…

"Chief, do you acknowledge what I just said?"

It seemed like his silence and blank stare were making her distressed.

John nodded and stood straight, like any competent soldier would.

"Yes, ma'am." was the only thing he said, before leaving the quarters.

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_Ho-ho-hooooly shit! This Fred dude sure is a menace! Poor John, seems like he doesn't understand jealousy and now he's seeing a threat where there is none. I think Fred is more interested in tiny agent Lopis, huehuehue. Also, Cortana, why don't you just say something? Women are so fucking complicated. I sense this whole situation will end up in explosive angry sex very soon, if these two don't make up their minds... who's with me? *incredibly evil smirk* Oh, don't be mad. It takes me a while to update, but it's coming slow and steady, and steamy. Hmmm. I can promise you that the next chapter will blow your minds, both literally and figuratively. Don't forget to leave some thoughts on today's update and please, follow/fav the story if you don't want to miss the updates! See you all soon :D_

_PS: I didn't check the spelling or grammar, so if there are any mistakes, fuck it. Enjoy!_


	4. PART IV

_Hello everyone! Mind-blowing episode we have for today, fasten your seatbelts! But don't fasten shit if you're not at least 18 years old, you know, NSFW things ahead. GTFO immediately if you're underage, I won't be labeled as a perv because of your curious little minds... I can be a full grown perv by my own achievement. Now enjoy today's update and leave some thoughts when you're done! *evil smirk*_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART IV**

 

_FOUR DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT_

 

Putting the 'experiment' on stand-by had been a terrible mistake.

Because, well... now she was in her fertile days and she hated herself.

Cortana didn't have to look at the schedule to feel it, the hormones racing without mercy in her bloodstream and the barely noticeable changes in her body temperature spoke volumes. She had taken off and put on her lab coat about a hundred times already. Her skin ached. Her nipples were so sensitive that the mere friction of fabrics made her shiver. She ended up discarding the bra because she couldn't stand it, and this was the third time she changed underwear that day. For if it wasn't enough, she still had six more hours of work ahead. Six more hours of dull, repetitive and out-of-reach helmet display testing alone with HIM on the nearly restored training floor.

She wasn't just in her fertile days. She was so ripe and ready that _it hurt_.

Cortana felt about to burst. It was reaching the point to which she just wanted to be taken by surprise, grabbed roughly and pinned, ravaged, enjoyed and seeded so bad that all sorts of erotic images crossed her mind randomly every minute. Even the statistics on the screens seemed to be having fun, for fucks sake! If she knew where such thoughts came from, she could put an end to the scandalous parade of rampant imaginary sex. _If only._ What frustrated her the most was _the wasted potential_. Staring dreamily at his back while the Master Chief executed the commands she gave him didn't help either; suddenly she found herself crafting a non-suspicious way to make him take some clothes off.

 _‘I could turn on the heating system.'_ she thought, absentmindedly.

If only he was wearing clothes, that is. The exo-suit, a sophisticatedly crafted network of sensors and neurotransmitters stitched between layers and layers of bullet-resistant materials and hydrostatic gel, latched to his body like a second skin. It was flexible enough to fit his every move and to trace the contours of his battle-hardened body to the smallest detail. Cortana couldn't help to stare at his tight ass for like, an hour.

And don't get me started with the front side, please.

 _'Lopis was right, my mother has a great eye. How can a man of his age turn me on so much? He could be my father.'_ Cortana thought, annoyed. She shook her head, knowing that the problem wasn't the Master Chief's closeness to fifty. _'It's not him, you're so unbelievably horny and he just happens to be here with you. You're taking a break, figuring things out, remember?'_

And yet, she still hadn't figured anything out. A shitload of work had taken her aback after being on medical leave for the past days, there was so much to do and to consider that Cortana literally had no time to think of a new strategy to enjoy her little experiment as much as she wanted to. She had to sleep, even if she needed pills to do so.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Down on the training floor, John moved swiftly through a very intricate labyrinth of hard light obstacles, a course designed to emulate a ruined city. He was holding a battle rifle modified to shoot pulses of electricity that the resident AI could collect and account for, immerse in a tracking drill. When he had a weapon in hand, he felt like himself. And since Cortana had decided to halt their secret assignment, he decided that he wouldn't mind much about her or the subject until further notice. It wasn't his job, anyway. He'd been dealing well with the decision.

Until today, that was.

They were separated by several yards and several walls, alright, but he would swear that he could feel her eyes stuck to his back like knives. Her voice in his ear was calm and monotone but he could sense an undertone that was driving him out of his mind so slowly and painfully that...

The Master Chief accurately shot five moving targets in the span of three seconds and the lighting in the simulation changed, turning from dirty dusk to regular white halogen lamps. All the crumbled buildings and crushed vehicles blinked erratically and blurred, turning slightly blue until the simulation vanished and he stood alone at the center of the massive room.

"And that's enough for calibrations. Thank you, Master Chief." Cortana said, her voice sounded a bit distracted. "We take a fifteen minute break and then proceed with testing the aiming function response under stress, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Go grab some coffee, eat something. You earned it."

So generically polite.

John nodded and took off his head the testing prototype, a non-refined -nowhere close to the final design- version of the MJOLNIR Mark VII helmet and put it aside, careful not to step on the wires. The device was connected to an array of machinery that followed him around on a hanging rail, across the ceiling. When he exited the arena, Cortana huffed and threw herself back on the chair, staring vaguely at the white padded roof of the isolated control cabin.

A moment later, she heard a single, light knock on the mirrored glass door.

She saw John through the external video feed, he was holding a small tray with two disposable cups of coffee and something that looked like a pastry. He didn't ask to come in, but come on. The gesture both surprised her and made her blush, her heart leaped all of a sudden. Cortana rearranged her posture on the chair and pushed a button on the console, the door slid open immediately.

As she suspected, the pastry was for her along with one of the coffee cups.

"Thank you, Chief. This is..." she started, biting her tongue before she could say _'this is really sweet of you'_. There was nothing sweet about this man, only God knew how many lives he had taken with his bare hands alone. How _dangerous_ he really was. Cortana tried to suppress a warm smile and she saw he was standing very still, staring blankly ahead: "As you were, please. We're taking a break."

He nodded and grabbed the other disposable cup, making himself comfortable against the wall behind her. Cortana bit the pastry. It was so good.

"How is Frederic doing?" she asked, because she didn't know what else to say.

"He should be back on duty already." John answered, quickly.

Cortana nodded, humming low. She sipped her coffee. For an ice-breaker, it was as dull as she could think of; she knew perfectly well the medical status of all the Spartans involved with her tests, so the question was redundant. The Master Chief was a man of so few words that even the dumbest attempt to begin a conversation with him had high chances to fail miserably. And since he didn't keep talking, Cortana considered this attempt a failure to full extent.

"Good. We have delayed his tests long enough, I'll have to spend an entire week with him to make up for the lost time." she sighed, genuinely worried. "I am glad Frederick is recovering, of course, but you know what I mean... with the state of the war, delays are always a nuisance. Besides, the MJOLNIR variant I'm testing with him requires special attention and he is such a good test subject..."

A low grunt from behind her made Cortana turn around, intrigued.

"What was that, Chief? I didn't hear you."

"I didn't say anything, ma'am."

No, he didn't say it with words, but when Cortana paused for a moment to look at him in the eye, she saw annoyance. He seemed disturbed. As a scientist, Cortana considered that she was good at observation and this behavior didn't fly past her head: it wasn't the first time she noticed John's distress whenever Frederick-104 was in the same room with them or when she talked about him. Every record she had about Blue Team showed that John and Fred were excellent soldiers and even better combat partners, so...

Oh, but this wasn't a combat situation, was it?

"Master Chief, do you have any sort of quarrel with Spartan-104, by any chance?"

John frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"This is off the record, of course. But I get the feeling that something isn't quite right between the two of you. Could it be that you had a disagreement lately, or before being transferred to this facility? I need to know, I don't want your personal issues interfering with the research we're doing here."

"Everything is fine."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't seem so."

"What makes you say that?" John's voice grew colder.

"I've noticed you get tense whenever he is around."

"Ma'am." John dipped his head, without breaking eye contact with her. "Fred is my brother."

"Siblings can be very competitive." she murmured, thinking of Miranda.

"We are competitive when it matters."

Cortana felt a sudden rush of heat growing from her stomach and up. It was just a flash before her eyes, but she saw very clearly the two of these magnificent specimens grabbing and groping her indiscriminately in a shadowy corner, perhaps even taking turns on her. The worst part being that _she liked_ what she felt. The heat on her stomach quickly became a tight ball of disgust and Cortana closed her eyes, ashamed. Stupid hormones. This wasn't her. What the actual fuck?

"I think the break is over." she ended up saying, her voice sounded strangled, heavy. "Go and get ready, please."

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

John took in a deep breath of fresh air when the sliding door of the cabin closed behind him. He was trained to endure, yes, but he wasn't prepared to stand beside this woman for so long when her seasoned scent of female in heat was so intense. He'd gotten very good at sensing the difference, lately. He had absolutely no idea how did he manage to stand with his back stuck to the wall the whole time and not come closer to her, bury his nose in her hair and neck and...

He didn't think he'd like their little 'experiment' to the point of missing the idea of being with her again, even if the only thing she cared about was his seed. This craving felt so strange, so off. Now he was thinking like an animal. What would Dr. Halsey say if she knew he was fantasizing with fucking her daughter senseless?

Groaning, he shook his head and tried to look at the bright side: at least now he was away from Cortana. He didn't have to think of her soft curves and the warm, juicy tightness of her body. So firm and welcoming. Damn it. Now he was doing it yet again. The exo-suit bleeped and the sudden change on his body temperature activated the cooling function, it was like a chilly breeze all over his skin. A metaphorical cold shower.

He put the helmet back on and picked up his weapon, at the same time around him a new hard-light scenario came to life. It looked like the inside of a ship, although empty and dark. He could only see a dim bluish glow, emergency lights, and there was no other sound aside from the low rumbling of power and machinery; an environment he was very familiar with. He felt more comfortable instantly.

"Alright, Chief. We will begin now with the high-stress combat scenarios. This test is set to last twenty minutes tops, don't get distracted and try to survive until the end. The simulation will begin in three... two..."

High-stress? This didn't look stressing at all.

He changed his mind when he heard the first high-pitched, blood-chilling screech in the distance.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

His heartbeat was racing and his brain readings were plainly crazy.

Cortana considered for a moment if perhaps this simulation wasn't a bit too extreme: a drifting spaceship infested with Flood combat and infection forms. She needed to shake her subjects as much as possible for this test, and there was nothing more terrifying than the parasite, that she knew of. She'd seen countless gruesome images and video feeds of what that monstrous hive-minded disease could do to both human and alien life-forms, so it occurred to her that it would be a perfect test scenario. And judging by the Master Chief's off-the-chart stats, she nailed it.

She wasn't worried about a PTSD outbreak, since it was a rule that Spartans were born out of PTSD and they were honed by its effects. She wanted to push him.

... and maybe to punish him too?

Five minutes into the simulation it was time to add some more pressure. She brought up the file with the script she elaborated, but after re-reading the first sentences, she felt it was boring and uninteresting. It lacked spirit, intent. It was her own work and she was not worried about labeling it as mediocre, she'd been always very critic.

A little improvisation, perhaps? A wicked smile crept up her lips.

Cortana put on the earpiece and opened a secure comm-link to speak privately with the Master Chief, after disabling all recording protocols both for video and audio. There would be no trace of the following events whatsoever. A thrill warmed up her blood.

"Chief, do you copy?" she asked, softly.

"Yes, ma'am." his heavy breathing and growling voice made her shiver.

Cortana licked her lips and began:

"I already made a decision about our private mission."

"No offense, ma'am, but this is not the time..." he started.

"Oh, it is. It's the perfect opportunity."

He stopped for a second, to catch his breath.

"Really?"

"Of course. Target on your six."

He turned around, fast as a snake, and shoot three imaginary enemies. From then on, he moved swiftly towards a massive area and more Flood combat forms popped up on his HUD. Cortana could see everything he was seeing on dual monitors above the console; one showed the recreated scenario alone and the other had the display in front of the Chief's eyes, so far the targeting application was working flawlessly. She made a small note on her pad. He started shooting again as he dodged crates and parked vehicles, using them as shields for the monsters that more often than not leaped towards him.

"I was conducting this experiment under the wrong assumptions, as I told you before." Cortana began, speaking lazily. "We will dismiss all previous orders and indications, that includes the schedule. There won't be a new schedule, but things will be better organized, with more detailed instructions for you; all the simulations I've run on the matter point that I should be pregnant by the second out of the six sessions I have considered, if all variables are set. Of course, it's recommended to go forth with the entire run of sessions to maximize efficiency."

She stared at the dual screens with a growing sense of admiration. He was still all over the place, and although her words had a small effect on his focus, his aim and awareness of the environment never faltered.

"So, what changes, anyway?" the Master Chief asked, trying to pay attention to her and the monstrous bulges of infected biomass heading his way.

"Well, for one, the time limits will vary. Still, nothing too suspicious, so do not worry. However, instead of timed encounters, I will just reach out for you whenever it's necessary. I decided not to enhance the chances with drugs, so I have set an application on my pad that will read my vitals every thirty minutes and give me a heads up when the time is right for us to give it a try."

"Meaning you will summon me any time you want." he translated.

"As I said, I will be the less conspicuous as possible."

"Doesn't sound convenient."

Cortana frowned, confused.

By that time, the Master Chief had swept the entire area, killing off every single enemy reading in his HUD with sheer effectiveness. When the place was cleared, he moved to the next bay, a cargo space with several levels. The source of the infection, a biomass reading way bigger than any other he had fought until then, showed on his display as a faintly glowing red blob. A few levels below deck, hidden close to the imaginary ship's engines. He decided to save it for last, there was enough time.

He ran through some floodgates as the next area loaded in his sight. 

"Doesn't sound convenient? Why?"

"I have duties." the Chief stated plainly.

"Do you think I don't know that?" she growled, exasperated now. "I own those duties."

"I mean it's too much of a risk for both." John entered the cargo area and crouched by a stack of crates, watching a herd of infection forms roam around a few yards ahead of him. The critters didn't detect him. "I cannot agree with your terms under these circumstances, ma'am."

Was he... was he _rejecting_ her, or playing hard to get?

No, she was pretty sure he was rejecting her. Cortana felt her cheeks burn.

She didn't know how to properly respond, this was beyond improvisation.

Her voice grew cold: "Well, then; if you feel like it's too much for you now, Master Chief, perhaps I should look for a new partner. I'm sure I can find someone, you're not the only one I did research on."

A nervous muscle twitched on John's neck at those words.

"Ask Fred." he answered, as cool as always. "You said it was me or him."

An alarm bleeped on Cortana's console. His heart rate was spiking again.

The Master Chief came out of hiding and opened fire on the infection forms, with a certain anger that wasn't there before. Once he cleared that floor, he leaped into an elevator and went all the way up, to the highest level of the simulated cargo bay.

His overall posture was a monument to aggression.

And that sight made Cortana's insides tighten, her body was aching again.

"Indeed I did, yes." she commented, distracted."Spartan-104 is my second choice."

"Very good. Fred is _second best_ after all, I'm sure he will perform _accordingly_." John growled, not without intent.

She squinted now, as realization hit her. _'Oh, John'_.

So, there was some sort of quarrel between him and Frederick. Clearly it wasn't known to both of them, since Spartan-104 was never this distressed when in close proximity of his team leader... but she hadn't considered that John would be actually jealous of his sibling in such a way. This was jealousy, alright. Something she could use on him.

It should've been a warning to her, though. A little, faint voice on the back of her mind yelled something about being _an ungrateful bitch_ , but she chose to ignore it:

"Spartan-104 was a great match, I only decided for you because of your record. Who wouldn't want to have the child of a renowned war hero, even if nobody was ever going to find out? I see now which was the greatest mistake: I was seduced by words other than hard facts." she leaned in on the console, a vicious smile on her lips. Her voice turned husky. "And Spartan-104 sure has some _damn good hard facts_ to account for. I have plenty of testimonies of that."

"Fine." he spat, quickly.

"Then your role in my experiment ends here." she said, half angry, half curious. "Thank you for your service, anyway."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Anger spiked inside Cortana. She hit the glass console with the heel of her hand.

She hated being wrong, _but she hated more being pointed out when she was wrong_.

"Of course I do!" she bellowed, now furious. Upset, frustrated. Desperate. This was so wrong. Instead of breaking him, the pressure was about to break her. "You couldn't even lead me to a single orgasm the three times we were together, what makes you think that I need you?"

He froze, alone and mighty into the heart of the simulated ship's cargo bay.

Then, he turned around slowly, the iridescent orange visor of the primitive testing helmet aimed at the huge windows of the cabin where she was protected. A million tiny needles of cold pierced Cortana's skin at the sight of such menacing attitude, she knew she went too far with that last brawl, but now…

John dropped the rifle and slowly took off the helmet, still looking up to the cabin. The hard light scenario froze and blurred, dissolving as the simulation was ended; both of the feeds in front of Cortana also froze and then white noise filled the screens, with a warning label across.

He couldn't see her, right? The windows were mirrors on the outside.

"Chief." she said, tensely.

But he couldn't hear her now. The headset was part of the helmet and the helmet was lying on the floor, John nowhere to be seen because he was storming his way towards the cabin like a hurricane. He was so damn fast whenever he wanted it so, she noticed. Swift and effective like a predator. Too late Cortana realized that she forgot to activate the door locks after he left, earlier...

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The outside panel was lit green when he smacked it to gain access to the cabin.

Suddenly he was in, and she almost screamed.

"Master Chief! I warn you!" she growled, a bit frightened but mostly excited.

There was only one way in or out, and John was blocking it.

Cortana ceased breathing for a few seconds.

John stood away from the mirrored door by walking in slowly, blazing blue eyes fixed on her, pinning her to the console. She was standing, facing him. She didn't place the chair as a shield between them, for some reason.

He closed in, the only hint of menace was in his deeply upset stare.

Until the Chief stopped, almost bumping into her. Cortana swallowed hard.

"You will repeat that to my face, ma'am." he demanded, his voice stern.

"Oh, please." she snorted.

His proximity wasn't helping. His warm breath quite close to her face, the shadow of his colossal height dropping over her… no, it wasn't helping. It was making her hotter and bolder, angrier. The tiny voice in her head was overwhelmed by another voice, stronger and hungrier, that shouted ANGRY SEX; it sounded like a wonderful idea -the thought sent a rush of adrenaline through her veins-, but this wasn't the time to be so stupid. This could go horribly wrong.

Or it could be the best thing ever.

"No more games." John stated, his temper an inch away from breaking loose. "Speak up now."

"I have nothing to say."

He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, almost growling.

"You're lying."

"You have no idea…"

"This was _your_ plan." the Chief started, leaning forward to look at her in the eye. "You arranged all of this because you wanted me to give you a child. _Me_ , specifically. All of a sudden you call everything back and leave me stalling on stand-by without further orders. Now you provoke me for no reason. Tell me what I did wrong."

Cortana closed her eyes tightly shut when he began, but she opened them back after he finished his short and eloquent speech. She never heard him say so many words together in one go. Poor thing. Her eyes dared to go up and found his, they held each other's stare for a few silent seconds, isolated from the world.

"You didn't do anything wrong." she whispered.

"I thought you said I did."

She clenched her fists, grabbing the edge of the console until her knuckles turned white. There it was, the shame. Now she had to admit what she'd been denying from the very first secret encounter they had.

"It's all my fault!" Cortana sighed. "I gave you the wrong directions!"

"Elaborate."

She moaned under her breath, tortured. "You didn't do anything wrong. You did what I told you to do, we made a silly agreement about it... but I had hopes that in the heat of the moment things would turn different. More intense. I thought that, over time, we both would come to enjoy it independently from the mission and you would forget about discipline, maybe even get bolder and go beyond what was established."

"I wanted to, you said it wasn't allowed. I respected that."

She was shocked. He meant, when he tried to kiss her and she so emphatically refused.

She had reasons for that, yes, very good reasons. Reasons of her own.

"There are so many other things besides from kisses, John."

"I don't really understand..."

"I want sex, are you happy now? I want to have a child without a relationship, but I also want some good sex. I have needs, just like everyone else. Now I'm not yet pregnant and I'm embarrassing myself before you. This is great."

She sighed again, looking away this time.

He was calmer now, all due to the intoxicating essence of her fear floating in the air mixed with the scent of her untamed lust. He sensed it, alright. And he remembered the schedule very clearly: this was the most important day of her cycle, the day that could define the success of his mission. Her cheeks were flushed and sweaty, she didn't know what to do with her hands so she choose to keep them clasped to the console.

Why didn't she just say it? It was so simple.

He wasn't entirely aware of the meaning of "cold feet", but it didn't look like Cortana was backing out because of second thoughts either. She was embarrassed to admit that she didn't knew how to ask for what she wanted without making it a big deal. Now it sounded more logical to him, but still...

"And you people think we Spartans are socially handicapped." he murmured.

Cortana bit her lower lip, now looking at him again.

And she found that he was staring at her lips, at the way the bare tips of her teeth were softly touching the red flesh, keeping it tightly pressed. He looked like he really wanted to give it a try himself. Another thrill shook her, unconsciously.

No. _No kisses._ Please, no.

She didn't want to kiss him, because if she kissed him once and she liked it, then she would want to kiss him some more. And then she would want him to kiss her. Later on she wouldn't be able to go through the day without a kiss, or without his company. Or without the sound of his voice.

And then she wouldn't want to let him go.

And that was NOT the plan.

Cortana felt her eyes warm up with tears, but she kept her composure.

She gave up after a very short and embarrassing inner deliberation.

Her hands touched warily the warm, rugged surface of the exo-suit above his chest, and leaned in to rest her forehead on his chin. It was easy because he had lowered his head enough to talk to her, of course. The proximity triggered everything that was primal and unattended in her and suddenly Cortana found herself coming closer, sticking her body to his and rubbing her cheek on his jaw like an affectionate kitten. She exhaled deeply, relieved with his acceptance. When she felt his hands grab her waist and slide both up and down her body, she knew he wasn't mad anymore.

"If I am not fit, then pick another partner and let's get this over with." he said.

"I don't want another partner." she whispered, her fingers were now looking for the seals of the exo-suit, removing it from him seemed like a great idea. She unhooked two latches and decided to open all of them, this couldn't wait anymore. "I don't want anyone else."

She unlocked four more seals before he seized her wrists, without hurting her.

"Then tell me what do you want."

Cortana looked at his big, rough hands, so carefully clasping hers. She wanted them everywhere. Literally everywhere. Boy, her mood could swing one way or the other so fast that she felt light-headed already.

The next time she looked at him, her eyes were darkened with lust.

"Well, you said it yourself once: I didn't choose myself a Spartan because I wanted to be taken lightly. So, take me. Any way you want, don't hold back. Show me why you think I picked you."

"Are you sure about that, ma'am?"

She swallowed hard again, he let go of her hands. She stood straight, defiant.

And she punched the door lock key with a clenched fist.

He seemed to consider it for a fraction of a moment...

Then a very slight and devilish smirk curved the corner of his mouth.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The next thing she knew after locking the cabin's door was that she wasn't ready for this, but she wanted it so much that it ultimately didn't matter. The temperature inside had escalated rather quickly despite the ventilation being on, the source of such intense heat was her own racing pulse and hungry flesh.

Cortana unlocked most the frontal latches of his exo-suit, and John managed the ones on the back. Releasing him from that sophisticated cage was like breaking a dam, because the mere moment he felt the upper torso of the suit hanging low from his hips, the cool air touching his pale skin, he grabbed the woman in front of him and sat her over the smooth surface of the console. The device deactivated itself upon this unknown contact.

 _'Don't hold back'_ , she said. Such powerful words.

She tried to reach the two latches left on his crotch, but he knocked her hands away.

"No." he said, growling low.

Cortana gasped, excited although a little upset. This was unexpected.

"Do you want me to...?" she began.

"No." he said again, categorically. "I'll do it."

She knew for sure what he meant when he grabbed the lab coat and nearly ripped it off her shoulders, one hand propped on her waist to keep her steady. Then he roughed up her shirt until she was off of it too, taking the undershirt with it; her full and aching breasts were completely bared to his eyes now. Of course, she had discarded the bra earlier in the morning. John pushed her down to lie on her back over the console, as he worked his way up across her belly and between her breasts breathing in that delicious scent. As he reached her neck, he accommodated himself between her legs and held her in place by grabbing her hips... then he pressed his lips under her ear, making her heart leap joyfully. This was when she understood this time would be _definitely different_...

Cortana moaned under her breath, delighted. So exciting!

But she still had her pants on. Such a little detail.

She squirmed a bit, trying to reach the hem of her pants and underwear, trying to pull them down on her legs, but the Master Chief seized her hands again.

His voice on her ear made her spine tingle: "Not so fast."

"But..."

"No."

"Chief, come on..."

"No."

She huffed and scowled a little. "Fine, fine. You're in charge."

John moved her arms above her head, grabbing now both of her wrists in one of his significantly larger fists. His other hand disappeared from sight. Cortana was forced to arch her back to follow, propping her breasts up straight under his heated eyes. She felt like she was sliding down the console, when the Chief's other hand reappeared and got rid of the rest of her clothes and simple lab shoes, without releasing her.

Now her sweaty skin glued her to the crystalline surface. She didn't know exactly when he opened the remaining seals of his suit, but the hot stroke of his manhood erect and ready against her inner thigh startled her. Cortana took a moment to appreciate how close to her he was, covering her with his weight.

She couldn't physically overpower him, but he could bend her to his will however he liked without even breaking sweat. There was something deeply thrilling about that, about being at his complete mercy.

 _She trusted him enough to let him do as he pleased, she understood_.

If she could be any more wet, the small cabin would be flooded. She'd been waiting for something like this the whole day.

"Last chance to go back." he said, his thumb rubbing circles on one of her hipbones.

"I meant what I said." Cortana panted. "Take me any way you wa..."

He accepted that as a good enough answer and before she could even finish the sentence, the tip of his cock was already forcing itself between the folds of her core. But it wasn't as gentle as she expected: John rammed into her, completely, in one striking go that made them both groan. She was halfway recovering from the shivering sensation that made her back to draw an even more pronounced arc when he pulled back, and began to pound into her fast and hard.

The pleasure erupted in her brutally, taking her by surprise.

She couldn't help but to scream.

His hot breath on her breasts was followed by the scorching hot touch of his tongue, and finally, his mouth that engulfed first one of the nipples and then the other, as he mercilessly kept thrusting. That free hand kneaded the soft flesh roughly. Her body writhed trying to accommodate him better, looking for the perfect angle to enjoy herself and him. Although she wasn't moving, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

She struggled against the solid grip the Chief had on her wrists, but it was useless.

That feeling alone made her heart beat faster and intensified the pleasure. She could feel it, he was hitting all the right places. Harder, faster, deeper every time. She was so full and so hot, this was exactly how she wanted to be. How she wanted to be taken. Her mind went blank, the overdose of sensations took over and she stopped caring. Every nerve of her body was suddenly connected to her vagina, every inch of her skin covered in goose-bumps and happy, so happy...

She stopped caring about protocol and rules and ranks.

There was no UNSC inside that little cabin, just a regular female experiencing how it felt to have her brains fucked out of herself, and _she loved it_.

Her moans synchronized with his thrusts, and although she craved to touch him and scratch his skin, to grab and bite and lick and squeeze her legs around his waist, her instinct was wiser and Cortana just rolled her head back, exposing her throat to him. John was fast enough to lean on her, making her feel the hardness of his own physique as he dived deeply in her, pressing every sensitive spot the right way. He kissed her collarbone, and she let out a long cry of agony.

"Yes." she hummed, crushed by his impressive weight. "Yes, yes!"

She yelped when the Chief let go of her wrists and grabbed a handful of her hair.

The blazing touch of his lips was now on her throat.

"Oh God!" she moaned, nearly out of breath. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to cum now or lose her mind forever. "Please, Chief, just... don't leave me like this again, I'm yours to do as you please. I need you so bad..."

Her voice broke in another cascade of strangled moans as he slammed harder into her, his sinister figure looming over her like a lustful demon. Those words seemed to make a difference to him.

"Mine to do as I please?" John said, coldly.

She wished she could've argued with that, but it was too late to complain, anyway. The desire to shriek and let the world hear about her pleasure grew.

"Please! I'm...!"

 _'I'm going to cum!'_ she thought, but the words didn't make it to her mouth.

The sensation was rolling from the deepest layers of her flesh towards the surface, the tension building up on her womb and trembling, sweaty muscles. It began with her core, the velvet fist of her insides tightened more than ever around his cock. It was both painful and thrilling, her hips bucked as she exploded, releasing another long and loud cry. A wave of heat washed all over her, her legs began to shake out of control; she buried her fingers on his shoulders, her short nails carving ragged trails across his skin.

Perhaps she screamed his name, perhaps she didn't. She couldn't say, she couldn't even breathe properly, she was overwhelmed.

But she screamed a lot, that much was clear.

She couldn't say for how long it lasted, she just became aware of what was going on again once the heat receded and the pulsing sensation within her loins ceased. All she could hear was the thumping of her heart on her temples. Cortana found herself held between two powerful arms which rested on the console, her back arched gracefully over such arms and her head lolled back, her eyes staring into nowhere. Legs spread wide and lazily hanging from his hips, her own arms thrown back, her fingers touching the cold mirrored surface of the cabin's walls. And he was still there, on top of her, those steely blue eyes now looking at her with a hint of humor.

But she didn't feel embarrassed this time.

Then she noticed he hadn't finished himself. Why?

Who cared, anyway? The afterglow was so nice, she almost had forgotten how it was the aftermath of a great sex session, but this could set a new bar on her measuring system, for sure. She managed to draw a dizzy smile.

"Oh, yes." she purred, laughing softly. "That was _so good_. That was..."

"That was just warm-up, ma'am."

 "What?"

The Master Chief dropped her on the console, a bit ungracefully. Cortana hit the back of her head on the glass and squealed when he pulled out of her, abruptly; it was too quick and too sudden, her body was still very tight inside and it felt bad. It hurt and plus, it made her drip in an unwanted way. She frowned, upset.

"What are you doing?" Cortana asked, confused.

He didn't answer.

He just grabbed her by the hips and flipped her over the crystalline surface. Her breasts and cheek pressed on the glass, her back bent upwards in a graceful arc that exposed her to him. John brought her chair and handled her to kneel on it, improving the height of her ass up in the air. Cortana intended to protest, a little scared, but then she understood.

"Oh, God." she mumbled, swallowing hard. "Wait... Chief, wait! I just...!"

"I know."

"What are you doing?" she roared the question this time.

"I'm going to do as I please, just as you said."

Cortana came to realize the size of the mistake she had made.

None of her behavior studies suggested that the Master Chief could have a streak for dominance such as this. He was a dangerous man, true, but deep down she knew that all dogs were as dangerous as they were trained to be. She had chosen him because he was a good soldier, because he was keen to follow orders, which meant _he was safe_. She trusted that, she trusted him, but she never imagined that...

Her heart was now racing out of pure fear.

She propped herself on her elbows and looked back at him, angry.

"Oh, I know what this is. Taking a little vengeance on authority, now? Always wanted to show a CO what is like to be the bitch?" she snarled, her eyes burning. "Or is it because I am a female? I'll have you know, Master Chief, I submit to a worthy opponent, not to any asshole who thinks that because he has a dick he's better than me."

"I don't think I'm better than you, ma'am."

His voice was so calm that Cortana's anger and fear faltered and disappeared.

John's hands rested on either side of her hips, keeping her still.

She gave it all up upon the delicious feel of his manhood driving back inside of her, all tension escaped her body and she became a bland mass of muscles craving for more. A soft moan accompanied her as she let herself fall over the console again, keeping her hips up as much as possible to enjoy the most of what was going to come. He groaned a little when their flesh connected with each other, fully buried in her welcoming depths.

 _Much better._ The Chief pressed her thighs closed, feeling the tightening of the space around him, and instantly began to set an escalating pace of thrusts and hard grinds against the full curves of her backside. She was dripping again, so wet and ready. No matter how hard she tried, Cortana soon was panting again, this time her own hands caressing her breasts, her own belly, his hands gripped around her waist and his powerful thighs.

Every moan was a soft sigh of growing pleasure, it felt so good.

She could stay the entire day with him like this, if only...

 _If only they were not the people they were_.

She bit her lower lip, preventing a scream. No time for such thoughts, things were getting serious once more. He was slamming her now, hard and fast and quickly going out of control like the last time. She was bouncing forward so hard that if it wasn't for his hands, she would probably crash against the wall. It wasn't enough for him to make her bend over like this, he wanted everything. Fine, she was willing to give herself up to him and also to take everything he had as well, this time she would make him cum so hard that he would be left shaking.

Yet another ferocious smile took over her lips.

Cortana stood up a little, her palms resting on the console, and grinded as he pushed himself in. The Master Chief groaned in approval.

Then she looked back over her shoulder, her lustful eyes finding his.

The poor lightning inside the cabin really made his wild eyes look like a demon's.

"Come on, Chief. I need you." she whispered, between heated breaths.

He thrust so hard into her that she screamed and laughed at the same time, thrilled. It was so exciting to test him, to tease the limits of his control. _'What if he were to truly get out of control?'_ she wondered. _'Would he hurt me?'_ She didn't want to know that yet, not until she was certain that she could manage him in such state. Perhaps he wouldn't have enough with a rough fuck to release tension, and she didn't want to think of worse things right now, not when his cock was sliding so delightfully in and out of her so fast and so hard that she knew it would be impossible for her not to cum again. Her eyes rolled back and she literally melt in his hands when her own fingers reached down between her legs and caressed the throbbing nub of her clit.

Her insides clenched in anticipation. So close, again.

John groaned and bent over her, covering her fragile frame with his body, pushing her down. Cortana came to rest in one elbow as he did, and grabbed his wrist to get a hold of herself and accompany his movements.

His controlled yet forceful breaths on her ear were probably the most erotic thing she ever experienced; not to diminish other things about him, of course.

"You are at the peak of your fertility today." he said, as if it were nothing.

"How do you know?." she answered quickly, her heart pounding inside her chest so fast.

"I can smell it on you. It has been driving me insane all day."

She almost choked. "Oh, really?"

Cortana turned her head slightly, their lips were so close this time. _So close_.

"You don't know the things you do to me, ma'am."

That was too much for her. The next shiver of pleasure sent Cortana over the edge and her world shook again, squeezing him so hard and so suddenly that the Chief couldn't take it anymore and let himself go with her. He swelled and erupted with her, seduced by the tight heat of her body. He emptied all of his seed straight to her womb as she squirmed and pushed back against him, wishing he could go even deeper. His free arm circled her waist to hold her in a possessive grip until she ceased struggling and relaxed.

Cortana couldn't move. Anything she tried only made her sensitive flesh buck again, sending another wave of bliss up her spine, so she decided to stay put for a while. At least, until she could breath normally again, that is.

She felt so warm, so sweaty, so heavy and so full.

 _So full_ , both of him and of happiness. This was pure ecstasy, this was...

_This was so fucking wrong!_

Reality came crashing down on her incredibly fast, almost knocking her off her feet. She remembered John saying something about risk, and this was too close. Keeping the control cabin's door locked for so long with no activity on the training floor was more than suspicious, it was...

"We have to get out of here." she panted, we voice weak and shallow.

He endorsed her words with a grunt, but didn't do anything.

"Chief, I'm serious, we can't be caught in here..." she looked through the crystal console towards the floor, to the space between the chair and his feet, the loose segments of his discarded exo-suit. There was a small but growing puddle of fluids, both hers and his. "We have to clean up house and leave, before anyone misses us."

Yet again, he didn't answer. She shivered in delight when his rough hands ran up her belly to cup her breasts, absentmindedly. Was he even listening?

"I'll do it." the Chief decided. "You get dressed and go."

He pulled out of her slowly this time, more careful. She bit her lips to endure and then smiled again, sighing. Then, the woman struggled to turn around but he helped her to lie on her back again, legs crossed. John loomed over her at arm-length, his hands propped on each side of her waist. She spread her legs once more and held him a little bit closer, much more comfortable with his presence than ever before.

The look in his eyes was somewhat soft, relaxed. This man looked years younger and in a much better mood, truly at ease and satisfied. Cortana smiled a little and caressed his forearms, distracted as well.

"Meet me in my quarters tonight, John. We can keep... discussing the terms of our arrangement, if you want."

"What about protocol?"

She snorted and smiled.

"Try not to get caught, then. I'm not done with you yet."

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_X.x oh my, this was too much. Too damn much. I went totally overboard, I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as they did, because this chapter took forever to be completed and I'm truly drained. I had a lot of fun writing this part, to be honest, and there's more to come, some drama and sexy times as well. Cortana wants her baby more than ever, and she has unleashed an insatiable beast! Bwahahaha. Gather around and see next time, there are still some more surprises to show you all. But most importantly, leave your thoughts on today's episode, I think I earned a few opinions, right?_

_Then again, not entirely checked for mistakes or grammar. I'm just happy I finished it._


	5. PART V

_Hi-hi! Well, well, well! Seems like the previous chapter left some hearts hanging, huh? Well, you know what they say: if you're not at least 18, GTFO of this story! I'm serious. Today we have another heavy loaded *wink wink* episode, so please enjoy yourselves and let me know what you think! The story doesn't have much more than 4-5 chapters left, so stay with me 'till the end... because it might surprise you. Please leave a word before you leave, my lovelies ;)_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART V**

 

Cortana looked at her own pale face on the mirror and sighed.

Nervously, she attempted to straighten her messy hair -to little avail- and to ignore the fact that she'd been butt naked for over six hours, trying to sleep and failing miserably, only to end up calling him to her quarters once more.

Just like that, defying all common sense and caution.

He didn't mention how reckless and inconvenient this was, they already knew the risk.

The second the Master Chief hit the panel to close the door behind himself, she attacked him like an animal. Speechless and ferocious, nearly out of control. He wasn't slow at all to respond and tried to tame her aggressive needs by giving her exactly what she wanted, just the way she wanted it.

And it was so good. _So fucking good_.

Cortana snapped back from the depths of that hot daydreaming and slapped her cheeks a little, not ashamed but merely stunned. How in the fuck did she came down from a full-time -absolutely full-time- top scientist, to a simple human female with no room in her brains for anything else than spending the day on her knees, getting fucked silly over and over again? No matter how many times she thought it was ridiculous, it changed nothing. She liked this. She wanted him bad, she wanted to be full of him and she wanted to feel his overwhelming strength all over herself.

And he complied, with that unnerving, tiny and almost annoying smile on his lips.

She was tempted to report herself sick for the day and go back to bed with him. So very tempted indeed. Bed, desk, floor, sink, chair, wall, wherever he wanted. Cortana wasn't afraid to admit that she would've let him take her wherever he saw fit, in whichever fashion he saw fit either. A thrill ran through her veins and she sighed deeply, gifting the mirror image of her tired -yet delighted- face with a lustful grin.

"Floor it is." she murmured, and chuckled.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

After another two very successful rounds, she considered she had enough. She felt warm and sticky, completely full. Her mind was a little fuzzy. Her body was limp and even trying to lift her arms or move her hands to trace scars on his skin seemed like an impossible, heavy task.

The problem was, he was hard again. Correction: he'd been hard for a while, even after he gave her two good loads to fill her needs. Cortana felt a bit embarrassed to think that it never occurred to her that fucking her once maybe wasn't enough for him, being so focused on her own desires.

But then again, why should she care about what the Master Chief wanted?

Because it felt like _a terrible waste_ to dismiss him with such a pretty hard on.

Since they weren't running on the clock now, John didn't ask if she wanted him to leave -these were her quarters, after all-, but he looked like he needed some feedback or a word from her to be completely at rest. Cortana didn't really know what to say; in the heat of the moment she found that her mouth was capable of pretty shocking words, but now in the quiet afterglow of yet another amazing session, she preferred to say nothing. Pillow talk required another level of intimacy, one they did not share. The silence of their breathing was somewhat uncomfortable, even more so if she remembered that they had nothing else in common other than her ambitions. Ditching professional protocol might or might have not been a mistake. It was difficult to decide.

Still, she couldn't help but to stare at that demanding erection lying oh so close to her fingers.

Well, there was at least _one thing_ she thought she could do for him.

"What time is it?" Cortana asked, lazily.

"Oh-four-fifteen." he answered, right away.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. They've been going at it for over an hour, and yet it felt like so much less.

"It's still early." she decided, wrapping her warm fingers carefully around his shaft.

"Ma'am..."

He was suddenly stiff and his voice had a familiar tone of warning, Cortana understood why. He didn't seem to like it whenever she grabbed him like this, for some reason. Perhaps he didn't know it could be fun too, she suspected it was a possibility given his background. A devilish smile crept up her lips and she looked up, to find his razor-sharp eyes almost gleaming in the dimly lit room.

"Relax. I won't hurt you." she snorted, amused. "Like I could physically injure you, that is. Lie on your back for me, Chief." John hesitated, so she insisted: "Trust me, it's going to be fun."

"What are you going to do?"

This time her eyebrows rose in sarcastic disbelief.

"What does it look like? I'm done for the night, but you're obviously not. Let's work on that and help you rest... what do you say?"

The Master Chief didn't say anything, in fact. He just stared blankly at her, as if he didn't understand where she was going. Come on, he must have masturbated some other time, right? He sure knew how to give a proper fuck -he was good at it, thank you very much, he had a great instinct in that department-, so her intentions shouldn't be so obscure to him. No male individual of any species whatsoever adored the idea of leaving their genitalia in such a vulnerable position, but the human being was different. Cortana couldn't avoid to think of him as a cornered animal, not comfortable with her handling him that way...

The more they spent in silence, staring at each other, the more awkward it became.

"For the looks of it, I'd say nobody ever gave you a handjob." she muttered.

"No." he said, simply.

"Never, really?" Cortana was surprised again, but she shouldn't have.

She planted the free hand on his chest and pushed, to make him lie on his back.

John gave in and made himself comfortable. "Seems pointless."

"Of course, because why would anyone want to have sex for fun, right?" she chuckled, finally loosening up; perhaps she could show him what he was missing. Cortana shifted her weight until she was lying on her belly, between his legs, feet playfully up in the air and forearms resting over his powerful thighs. Her hand never stopped gripping his cock. "For the record, sex is supposed to be fun for everyone involved, so I'd really like to know if you have any fun ideas of your own."

The Master Chief grunted something that sounded like 'fun' under his breath, and tried to relax, eyes staring at the dark ceiling. Cortana noticed the tension that ran under his skin, tightening every muscle of his body, and felt a sudden rush of euphoria. She found this temporary position of control as much arousing as the perspective of being controlled and taken by him, as thrilling as whenever she let herself go and be just a weak toy in his hands. To know that she could hope to rule over him, even if it was for a brief moment, made her insides tingle and her heart race.

She used her free hand to rub softly the right side of his chest and abdomen, all the way down to the hip and upper thigh, and then all the way up again, several times. After a few sweet, relaxing strokes, she began to move her other hand, rubbing the soft length of his manhood slowly.

"Relax and just try to enjoy yourself. Let me do the job." she whispered, her voice soft as silk in the darkened room.

A deep, heavy sigh was all the implication of acceptance he gave away.

Perhaps if she kept talking...

"You know, when they say women are complicated? We need more than just a senseless pounding to be satisfied or feel good during sex, that's true. Men are simpler when it comes to that; it just takes that one woman that will give enough attention to your penises and you can call it a night. I mean, _the right kind_ of attention." she said, a smug smile curling up her lips as her ministrations became bolder. "Truth is, _it's not even the whole penis_. You just have to focus on certain areas at the right time."

She let her wandering hand rest just above his hipbone and diverted her attention on the upper half of his cock, squeezing and twisting her fist a little faster now. John exhaled all the air retained in his lungs with a strangled growl, which meant she was doing it right. She never went below the lower half, although her thumb occasionally tickled and rubbed the head without ever engulfing it in her tightening hand. She kept doing that for a few more minutes, paying attention to the increasing pace of his breath.

"One bit at a time." she said, smiling. "Until you know it's time to go deeper."

Cortana continued squeezing and rubbing up and down, faster now, and approached her lips to the already glistening head of his cock. She didn't touch it, just let her warm breath create the illusion. John evidently tried to hold back a moan very improper of him but failed miserably, the helpless sound of his voice made the tingle between her legs grow hungrier. Her own heart started pounding harder inside her chest, encouraging her to go far beyond what she had originally intended.

It was so damn arousing to see him like this, all tense and grabbing the edges of the thin mattress with those big, bone-crusher hands. John was trying not to move, but it looked like he couldn't take it anymore.

"It's about who's in charge." her voice was husky now. "Men want to believe that they have earned something when women want to taste their cocks, but it's all the way around. You're the prey now. Defenseless, drifting at her mercy."

As she kept twisting her fist -now tighter-, Cortana gave in and pressed her tongue flat against the bloated head, tasting the musky prequel to the grand finale. John's head shot up and stabbed her with a tortured, perhaps confused look. She made eye contact immediately and dared to give him a slow and even more torturing lick all around, ever so defiant. One, two, three laps.

His hips buckled up by mere instinct, it wasn't even his intention.

"Ma'am..." he began, knowing that it was useless anyway.

"Now it's the time." she moaned, feeling the bodily fluids -both hers and his combined- drip down the sweet crevice between her pussy's lips, onto the sheets. Instead of giving some attention to the aching need at the same time she pleasured him, Cortana chose to use both hands on him. "This is when I finish you off."

She drove the tense member inside her mouth and welcomed it into the softest warmth, pressing and flicking her tongue directly beneath the rugged edge of the head. The Master Chief couldn't believe his eyes, as he stared how her lips closed around him and felt the maddening pressure of both her hands and tongue, how she sucked on his flesh and...

And how she kept her aroused, bright blue look fixed on his face.

He heard Fred talk about something called 'fuck-me eyes', but this...

This was more like a 'drive-you-crazy-without-effort' look. And indeed it felt like he was going insane; losing control was such an overwhelming sensation, it obliterated his every sense until it became somewhat painful to bear. A freefall, if he had to find another thrilling sensation to which compare this feeling. Yes. _Yes, that was it._ Falling. The knot tightening deep inside his stomach, the sudden spring of hot needles pinching his spine, the desperate need to grab her by the hair and shove his cock raw down her throat, like...

"I think I'm..." he started and drifted off.

The mere moment the tip of her tongue caressed roughly the top of his manhood, that tiny orifice from which the seed was meant to flow free, _he just lost it_.

Cortana was paying attention. She was already familiar with the gestures and body language that he engaged whenever he came, and she anticipated it with great satisfaction. It was time. As soon as she noticed his intention to slam his hips up, she drove his cock a bit further inside her mouth and pressed her tongue underneath the head, then relocated her hands to stroke hard and roughly now the lower half of his cock. She made him feel like he was burying himself deep inside of her and the illusion seemed to be complete, because his back arched upwards and almost immediately she could taste his semen.

It made her shiver inside, to see him die a little like that gave her _so much pride_.

One, two, three... she counted about seven powerful spurts, her mouth filling up quickly as she couldn't believe how much was left on him even after two previous intercourses. He came rather silently but couldn't help the unconscious violence of the whole release, which she controlled by stroking hard a few more times until the swell receded and he relaxed. When John plummeted back onto the bed, she took him out of her mouth with great care, admiring her job: the flesh was already becoming soft on her grip. Good, very good. Since she didn't want to make a mess on the sheets -well, not to make them more messy than they already were, to be honest- Cortana stretched to grab the moist towel she had been using to clean herself up, and spat on it.

It was a lot, certainly. Almost inhumanly abundant.

 _'Such a waste.'_ she thought, annoyed all of a sudden. _'It should've been inside of me, not discarded like this.'_

She sighed and sat propping her bare ass on her heels, beside him. John wasn't moving.

She took a moment to take in the magnificent sight of his massive, battle-hardened body glossy with a thin layer of sweat, his breath steadily slowing down and the blank, almost lost look of his eyes. She tried not to snort, but it was actually a bit funny. She'd never seen him like this before.

Now she was sure John felt as limp and heavy as she did just a while ago.

Not without certain effort, the Master Chief turned his head and looked at her. He wasn't going to give her a piece of his mind because it clearly wasn't in him to make commentary by his own initiative, Cortana already knew that. But he did look like he wanted to say something...

"You're welcome." she said, with a warm smile.

No answer. After a short moment, she noticed he was looking at her lips.

Yes, he was definitely looking at her lips, the longing in his eyes wasn't easy to hide.

Cortana felt her heart throb mightily as a sudden rush of adrenaline flooded her, her cheeks flushed but the dim lights concealed it. No. No, no. _Nope_. Enough crossing the lines for this evening, there was no need to break any more rules, and certainly no need to break that rule in particular.

She let herself fall on the bed beside him, resting her head on his arm, and looked at the ceiling. The Master Chief did not attempt to touch her this time and he certainly did not move, they just lied there beside one another breathing the same air and thinking their own thoughts for a while. Cortana's heart was calm enough for her to ask:

"Did you have fun?"

"It was... interesting." John answered, after a brief hesitation.

"Good." she couldn't hold back her pride, once more. "Very good."

"I wonder..."

"Yes?" Cortana turned her head to look at his face, interested.

He hesitated again, looking for proper words. She could see the inner struggle all over his face, the afterglow had vanished rather quickly for him. That was interesting. She made a mental note to do a little research on the matter, later.

"How long will we be able to keep this up before anyone notices?"

She tasted a bit of disappointment on the back of her throat, and swallowed hard.

Of course. She should've thought of that herself.

"Leave that to me." Cortana said, confident. "It's my idea, and I promised you that your career wouldn't be harmed, right? _I'm supposed to take care of you_. And I will. Now I think it's time for you to go back."

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

**A WEEK LATER**

 

The double doors cracked in half and opened sideways with a low hiss before the Chief's eyes, and there was _that woman_.

She had this unique ability to stand out without effort, or perhaps it was his fault to be so receptive to her presence. Cortana had her face hidden behind a tablet, reading, and a cup of coffee on the other hand. She didn't notice him, but the rest of the civilian personnel sharing the tram with her looked at the four Spartans clad in exo-suits with the same astonishment as always. The Master Chief nodded, they smiled and made room.

John knew that if he and the rest of Blue Team got in there, the single-cabin automatic tram would be crowded -and dangerously overweight-...  but the sight of her was more compelling than common sense. He decided not to wait for the next ride.

Fred, Linda and Kelly followed, no questions asked. Juggling with the little space left, Fred moved amongst the people towards the back and found himself a spot beside Cortana, who was sitting on the cushioned bench; Linda and Kelly turned their backs to opposite walls, perfectly still. John was left in front of the crowd, his sharp eyes staring directly at Fred through the mirrored surface of the cabin's doors.

His mouth tightened in an involuntary gesture of disapproval.

It was a seven minute ride, he could take it. His stomach growled in protest.

The tram made a quick stop to exchange some passengers, five more minutes until final destination. There was more room now, but Fred did not leave his position. After another thirty seconds, John couldn't stand it anymore and moved to the back as well and stood at the left side of Cortana, giving Fred a menacing look.

The Lieutenant began to frown, when...

"Oh, Master Chief." Cortana said, cheerfully. "I didn't see you there. Good morning."

"Good morning, ma'am." the Chief answered, as quick and respectful as always.

The woman looked at everyone else and greeted them as well, but for some reason Fred didn't dare to respond in any other fashion than a faint smile and a quick nod. This pleased John immensely, and he took a deep breath as he crossed his arms, feet spread to resist the light rocking of the moving cabin. The scent of the female on his nostrils and the sight of the lesser male understanding his place brought John great satisfaction, almost what he felt whenever a challenging mission was successfully accomplished.

Of course, there was a pinch of guilt. He wasn't supposed to feel like that about Fred, they were combat siblings, raised to be there for each other no matter what, to be loyal and put all differences aside for the sake of the UNSC. _But it wasn't just Fred_. The fact that he couldn't stand the idea of Cortana sharing her time with any other male, Spartan or not, was becoming a real nuisance.

That woman really had no idea of the effect she had on him, John mused.

"Heading out today?" Cortana asked, still smiling. She sipped her coffee.

"Recon on the outskirts of the complex." he said, keeping it professional.

"The object, I presume." she murmured, disappointed.

"Yes, ma'am."

A few hours before dawn, the surveillance AI caught an unknown object entering the planet's atmosphere; it was assumed that it was a wrecked ship but the remains were too small to be compared with any known alien or human vessel. The object caught flames and crashed a few miles away from SHIELD Base's limits. Two recon drones overflew the area, however no signs of life were detected. The head of base security decided to send a Spartan team to search and retrieve -if not destroy- the object. Cortana wasn't amused to know that Blue Team was designated for the job.

Well, she didn't have any time scheduled with them that day, so...

"Be careful, then." she said, out of the blue.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I-I mean... " Cortana stuttered, nervous. "I need all of you in one piece, so be careful."

The Master Chief looked down from his colossal height, standing so close that the upper part of his calf touched her knee. Cortana cleared her throat and crossed her legs in a more closed posture, without breaking eye-contact with him. It was so hot inside that cabin, all of a sudden. She was sweating. Her panties felt weird.

Oh, Christ... not again.

 _'I can't believe myself.'_ Cortana thought, annoyed. She was the first to look away.

It had been a week already! They had been fucking on a daily basis, several times a day, for over seven days! How could she still get _this horny_ whenever he was around? It was getting more and more difficult to focus on work -even to check if she was pregnant or not-, all she wanted to do was to plan the next time they would meet and fantasize about what would happen, where and how they would enjoy themselves to exhaustion. It didn't take long for her cheeks to flush; she chose to hide her face behind the tablet, just in case.

What was this man doing to her, for fucks sake?

But Cortana knew that it was more about _what they were doing to each other_.

In this vicious circle of temptation and discovery, they were both playing the cat and the mouse at the same time. The more they pushed each other, the more they wanted from each other as well. Cortana felt every time more willing to submit and perhaps without noticing, he was becoming more intense, perhaps _more rough_. Every now and then, something was slightly different. This unnamed something was growing inch by inch closer to madness every time they were alone. He hadn't hurt her yet -nothing that she could consider being physically hurt, maybe- but there were no guarantees about tomorrow, or the day after.

She kept saying to herself that he was safe, and doubting it nevertheless.

And maybe she was eager to find out how far this little farce would go, how deep down the rabbit hole they could fall together, but on the other hand...

 _She craved what she shouldn't want_. She knew him as much as the most detailed psych report, but she didn't really know his thoughts on their vicious sex-scapades. They agreed that she wanted a baby, but this...

_'What does this mean to him? Does he even think about what's going on, at all?'_

Unwisely, she chose to believe that he didn't care. The Master Chief was just a male in heat.

She peeked at him again, standing tall and proud beside her, and sighed. _An irresistible male in heat, oh, yes sir._ John wasn't as handsome or cheerful as the Lieutenant but there was something much more attractive about him that she hadn't yet figured out. He could be disciplined, yet possessive and stubborn. Those were qualities she never liked in a man, but everything was different with him. And whatever his secret appeal was, it couldn't be found under a microscope.

However, the medical report she'd been reading on her tablet spoke volumes about what was going on _inside_ his body, that was another subject...

The tram was about to stop again. The main screen flared the text SPARTAN DECK on bright neon-green letters. With another soft hiss, the brakes slowed down the cabin until all movement ceased and the doors reopened.

Kelly was the first to exit, this time followed by Linda. Fred moved quickly, almost as if he were trying to avoid John's gaze, and finally the Chief made his way to the doors after giving Cortana a sharp nod goodbye.

"When you return, Master Chief, make sure to stop by my lab." she said, and she stood up when he stopped before setting a foot outside the tram. He turned his head, curious; the few people left in the cabin stepped back, leaving an empty space between the Spartan and the woman. "I have the results of your latest testing session and there's some issues I'd like to discuss with you. I believe you will be on leave after this assignment, is that correct?"

As if she didn't know. John nodded once, amused beneath his blank expression.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Even better. We will have plenty of time to oversee the issues."

There was a short, tight silence...

"Sounds like _fun_." he murmured, drawing for her that tiny, annoying smile. "Can't wait to get back."

John exited the cabin, the doors closed and almost instantly there was the light sensation of movement once more.

Her mouth ran dry thinking of the way he pronounced the word 'fun'.

Oh, he was smart. It didn't take him long to catch up and find his own ways to 'have fun' whenever they were together, Cortana quickly found herself surprised of his occurrences. She was half bewildered and half worried about the kind of curious beast she let into her bed. What was he planning now? That damned smile... not only her mouth reacted, she felt her stomach tighten and her heart leap. Talk about her panties when her whole body fell again in a neverending loop of frenzied hormones and feverish desires.

And he would be gone the whole day. An inexplicable sadness overwhelmed her.

Right then and there Cortana knew she wouldn't be able to tell him about the worrisome testosterone levels the technicians detected in his blood, or the fact that his slightly erratic behavior had captured the attention of the high brass. It didn't matter. She would be busy keeping her legs spread for him, squirming and moaning under his powerful weight again and again, for as long as this doomed arrangement was deemed to last.

And she had no problem with that.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The Master Chief went 'upstairs' to meet with the head of security and collect the orders. Meanwhile, Blue Team was getting armored and ready to go and spend the day sorting out a wreckage. Although it wasn't such an exciting mission and they weren't expecting any kind of heavy action, the promise of going to the surface was good for the spirits. Fred was humming low while he checked the mission inventory, waiting for his turn to be clad in armor; Kelly was taking care of the ammunition and supplies and Linda was cleaning her SRS for the eleventh time, ignoring the chatter.

"I'm just saying." Kelly began, retaking the previous conversation she was holding with Fred. "It's not like him to disappear without a heads up. Chief is the first to endorse that we stick together or within certain proximity, always combat-ready and all that."

Fred winced, he didn't really want to go there.

"Yeah, I noticed." he said, doubtful.

"Hell, I'm not even sure that the four of us had lunch together _one time_ this past week."

The Lieutenant gave Kelly a look between amusement and annoyance.

"You know, we are all entitled to do whatever we want with our spare time. Last time I checked we were Spartans, not conjoined quadruplets."

Kelly pressed her lips together. "Don't play dumb, Fred."

"Where are you trying to get, exactly?" he asked.

The woman sighed. "... it's not my place, I know. But I'm curious about what does John do when he goes dark on us. Or at least where is he during that time. I don't feel okay not knowing his whereabouts, it upsets me."

"Well, you are the big sis after all..."

"What if there's an emergency and we can't locate him? He even disconnects his ID tag."

Fred was about to insist on the idea of privacy and autonomy, when Linda snorted and puffed out a very short and dry laugh.

"Oh boy." she murmured, shaking her head.

That gesture called out the attention of the other two. Linda was the most independent member of Blue Team, a natural lone wolf who preferred to wait and observe instead of joining the conversation. It wasn't that she couldn't hold a conversation or that she wasn't much of a talker; she was the one who dropped the bombs when the time was right. This colorful reaction wasn't to be taken lightly, in any way. Kelly crossed her arms and Fred squinted, curious.

"What is it, Linda?" the Lieutenant asked.

The alluded Spartan lifted her eyes away from her weapon and looked at her combat siblings with fake disbelief, frowning a little. They suspected nothing. She liked to have the upper hand once in a while, being a sniper was all about observation and anticipation and she was the undisputed queen.

"You act as if you didn't know John has been meeting with Dr. Halsey all this time."

Linda meant Cortana, of course, it was crystal clear for everyone.

"Well, yes. We all have." Kelly said, confused. "That's why we moved to this base."

"No, no, no... he's been meeting _in secret_ with her."

"Wait, wait..." Fred began, raising his hands.

"You mean, John has a classified assignment with Dr. Halsey?" Kelly insisted, moving closer to Linda. "Because that makes sense. I mean, that would explain why he vanishes at any random hour."

"Or not. It should be on the daily schedule, even if it's classified."

Frustrated, the sniper dropped the SRS to hit the floor with the weapon's butt, holding the barrel close to her chest. That gesture brought silence once more, and she decided that it was time to release the payload:

"For fucks sake, guys. They are obviously banging."

Fred and Kelly kept quiet, just blinking slowly and trying to process the words.

"Come on, that's not possible." said the Lieutenant, weakly.

"I thought you knew, Fred... I mean, _you must feel it_."

"Feel what?"

Linda frowned again, this time in disillusioned horror.

"None of you noticed, for real? Come on. It's all there. First of all, his mood. Chief has turned aggressive and protective of that woman. _Territorial_. Of course, he's still our team leader and behaves with propriety, he is disciplined as the best of us after all, but this goes beyond anything he can control: it just pours out of him." she explained, looking at Kelly's puzzled and hurt face. "Second; he's showing off, guys, performing above all expectations and pushing away all possible rivals to establish himself as the alpha male. How can you not see that?"

There was another awkward silence.

"He has been a bit... territorial, yes." Fred commented, thoughtful.

"Fred, please. He totally crushed you on the tram, an hour ago."

"Alright, fine. " the Lieutenant growled, uncomfortable. "So John is being an asshole to me in front of Dr. Halsey because she's his now. Good to know, so I can keep out of their way in the future."

"It's a good plan. You have your own business to take care of, after all."

As Fred gave her a scandalized look, Linda winked with a ferocious little smile. Cold sweat covered his back as he realized that the sniper had a hint on his own lustful activities with petite ONI agent Veta Lopis. That relationship had more chances to become a problem than John's ongoing affair with the lead scientist and head of the entire SHIELD Base. Veta was an agent, a pawn on a huge chain of command, not a rich and powerful woman who only had to wipe out a file to make all evidence disappear. But then again, John-117, the one and only, banging in secret the highest ranked civilian on the base? That was certainly something else.

Fred tried to suppress a mocking smile, he had a hard time believing it. It was...

"This is bad." Kelly said after a while, speaking Fred's thoughts. "It's against regulation."

"Well, not exactly." Linda commented. "The regulation code forbids to engage romantic or sexual relationships with members of the same branch. Spartan on Spartan, that's a no-no. Spartan-Civilian, maybe. Spartan-ONI agent..."

"What Kelly is trying to say," Fred hurried to interrupt. "is that we aren't supposed to be in relationships of that sort. That's not what we've been raised and trained for, Linda. Some of us have a better understanding of how that aspect of life works and know how to handle it, but John..."

"He won't be able to handle this." Kelly added, siding with Fred.

Kelly's usually friendly face was serious, yet Linda perceived how hurt she was. Kelly was the Master Chief's best friend, the first friend he ever had in the SPARTAN program. They were quite fond of each other, survived together boot camp, endured Sam's death and shared countless missions. Kelly was the team's big sis, yes, but she was more John's sister than anyone else's; after being so close to one another for so long, Linda knew that Kelly felt somewhat stood up by John.

And given that she was the one who knew him best, Kelly was right.

Linda nodded slowly.

"He already can't handle it. I bet any of you five days of leave that brass is already on their way to evaluate him." she said, dead serious.

"We should tell him to be more careful." that was Fred's input.

"We should tell him to stop it, at once." Kelly blurted out, nervous.

"Too late for any of that." Linda shook her head. "I know how this is going to sound, but I have the feeling that he is already... I don't know, _somewhat 'mated' with her_. And you know how that works. He won't let Dr. Halsey go, no matter what..."

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Unbeknownst to Linda, Cortana was at that same moment on her private quarters, just opening a message from the head of ONI SECTION-III. It was a memo to let her know that a specialist was already on his way to SHIELD Base, intended to perform a psychological evaluation on all SPARTAN-II assets. The report she had been reading earlier that morning on the Master Chief's health had been the first clue, but she was too slow to realize that the information made it to her after ONI laid their hands on it.

Attached to the message there was an ID file.

When she saw the name and the picture in the file, Cortana hit the table with the talon of her hand, both furious and terrified.

 _"You have to be kidding me!"_ she thought, scared. _"Him, of all people? Why him?"_

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_Wohaaa! Sorry for the delay! I know this chapter should've been up earlier, but I've been quite hooked to a new TV show from HBO and with the support of a Devil I know some new ideas for this story have appeared *murders plot bunnies before they can lay eggs* Nothing too weird, I promise. Just some more drama to spice things up before the Great Revelations and the Great Finale *evil laughter* Alright, how about today's episode? Please leave your thoughts and let's meet again, very likely that in the first days of the newborn year. Have a Merry Christmas and lovely New Year's Eve! *hugs everyone* Remember, tell me your thoughts on today's episode! :D_

_PS: Again, not verified for grammar and such. If there's mistakes, I'm very sorry and please try not to kill me that much! Be safe._


	6. PART VI

_Sorry guys, vacation time. You know how that is. Now, now; what I bring y'all today might turn out as a little off-setting *evil smirk* just play along with me for a while. PS: If you haven't watched HBO's Westworld... you might as well begin now. Right now. Make a weekend marathon of it. It's absolutely worth it. Also, be good readers and leave your thoughts behind once you're finished with today's chapter, okay? You know reviews are the writer's drug, they make us come back for more ;)_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART VI**

 

The Pelican maneuvered with care on the landing bay and finally sat down on its weight, its back door opened with a dramatic hiss of hydraulics.

Lined up in a display of pure discipline and strength, Blue Team was fully armored and standing a few feet behind Cortana as her white lab coat got caught by the aggressive wind of a pressure exhaust and flailed back violently. She even raised her right hand to protect her eyes from the brilliant lights of the airship, squinting. The cargo bay door touched the concrete and the occupants began their descent, in a compact bulk.

Since the title in her ID read _'Lead Scientist and Executive Director'_ of SHIELD Base, Cortana was obligated to greet in person every important asset that arrived to the facility, and the commission in charge to perform psych evaluations on her appointed Spartans wasn't the exception. It was a rather small commission, though; two Spartan IV escorts and ten civilians. Cortana thought that she had only one good reason to be worried about the arrival of these people, until she understood why the names of the escorts were redacted on the briefing memo.

The Spartan IV clad in customized black MJOLNIR GEN-2 armor halted at arm length distance from her and nodded, then proceeded to take off his helmet. It wouldn't make any difference, she had read his name on the armor tag and her soul had already left her body behind.

"Ma'am." he greeted, his voice deep and warm, strong. His eyes were also quite warm, yet cunning. Dark, but inviting. "Good to see you again."

"Welcome to SHIELD Base, Spartan Locke." she said, after clearing her throat.

Oh, yes. She knew him pretty well.

Spartan Jameson Locke, twenty-eight, ex ONI operative and now the hottest name in SECTION-III at the time. Intelligent -above average, Cortana would say-, well mannered and charming, he was also one of the hottest names on the lips of many women -and men- Cortana had worked with for the past four or five years. With a reason, of course: he was a handsome devil, flirty when he had the chance, all business and professional whenever he was meant to be. His record was very impressive, some would say outstanding for his young age. Truth is, he was outstanding even before becoming a Spartan. People liked him.

Even she liked him, once. That didn't end up well.

She haven't seen him in... what? Eighteen months? Maybe twenty?

They shook hands and Cortana couldn't help but observe how his huge armored glove engulfed her fingers making them almost disappear. She swallowed hard and retreated, looking back at the Pelican, the other Spartan that came along -her armor tag read 'Vale'- and the people gathering their belongings and equipment.

"I didn't know you were coming." she informed.

Locke raised his chin a bit, his expression suddenly alert.

"Is that going to be a problem?" he asked, softly.

"Not at all. You are doing your job, I will be doing mine. Nothing to worry about."

"Alright then, how have you been?" he went back to his usual, nonchalant self.

Locke was the kind of man confident enough to tease the rigid limits of solemn duty without stepping out of line completely. That was probably the thing she used to like the most about him.

"Good." her answer was sharp, quick. She didn't say the rest out loud. _'I'm doing so good that I manipulated your man-crush into giving me a baby, how about that?'_ Cortana bit her lower lip, feeling upset. "So, this is why SECTION-III redacts your name on the memos? Because you're _babysitting_ civilians now?"

He eyes focused on the old man that was standing beside the action with his hands in the pockets of his black dressing pants. He wore a white dressing shirt and black waistcoat, like an executive from an old movie. This anachronistic man stood just waiting, occasionally folding a handkerchief or checking the time with an antique mechanical clock meanwhile the base personnel handled everything. He seemed pretty harmless.

Cortana knew by fact that he was anything but.

_Laureate Behavioral Psychiatrist Dr. Robert Ford might look old enough to represent a threat to no one, but that was the way he wanted it to be._

"I'd hardly can call it babysitting. The fun never ends, believe it or not." Locke chuckled, looking at the old man too. "How's working with the Master Chief himself?"

"Satisfying." Cortana snapped out of it, smiling a little. "Very satisfying."

"The man lives up to his name, huh?"

"More than you can imagine." her smile grew cocky, so did her body temperature.

"That's him, right?"

Locke made a gesture with his head, pointing behind her. Cortana turned around slightly enough to check the Master Chief's position on the landing bay. About five feet directly behind her, hands clasped at the small of his back and standing straight, feet spread. Close enough to hear everything that was being said. Lord Almighty, he looked magnificent. A silent Titan in olive-green, at the ready.

She nodded and turned back to Locke, swallowing hard.

"What gave it away? Was it the 117 on his armor tag?"

The man chuckled again, amused. "You have to find a moment to introduce us."

"I'm sure you will find the time to do it yourself, Jameson." she said. All of a sudden she became awfully aware of the Master Chief's presence but that knowledge somehow eased her troubled mind. She felt more confident in front of Locke now. "I'm transferring all the specifications of your designated accommodations, schedules and security keys. I'm sure you won't have any trouble with it."

Locke agreed to the reception of the files with a nod. She got lost for a moment studying the strong lines of his handsome, dark face. He was also a magnificent specimen, but one she'd never have thought of as a candidate for her secret mission. Their days were over, it didn't matter how warm the memories made her feel on the inside.

Memories of long, lazy afternoons spent lying on twisted sheets, breathing heavily and writhing under his touch...

She blinked fast a few times, brushing away those images. Dr. Ford was approaching.

"Elizabeth."

Cortana forgot immediately about Locke and looked at the old man's faded eyes.

"Dr. Ford." she said, forcing a grin. "Welcome."

The man replied with a rather uninterested smile and grabbed one of her hands in both of his, reciprocating her salutation with a few soft pats on her skin. It was the kind of merry gesture grandparents reserved only for their favorite grandchildren. She endured it all with that stiff smile still on her lips.

"My dear Elizabeth." Dr. Ford started again. "You are as stunning as your mother, I must say. How is she, by the way? Haven't seen her in ages."

Cortana felt a strong wave of repulsion hit deep inside her stomach, but she tamed it. A few things she was certain about Dr. Catherine Halsey and the most important of them was that she'd never truly understand her or her motivations. She knew everything that there was to know about the SPARTAN II program and her mother's involvement in it, how deep were the roots of her influence and how twisted the ramifications of her theories had turned out to be. This seemingly harmless man in front of her did his part for the program as well, and she understood him even less, but that was a long time ago. She was far too young.

Maybe things were different back then, who would know?

Looking now at Dr. Ford, Cortana realized more than ever that she was well on her way to becoming her own mother, and that terrified her.

"Busy, as usual." she answered.

"She doesn't write you either, I take it?"

"Not more than necessary. You know how she is."

"Unfortunately, I do." the man sighed, shaking his head. He grabbed Cortana's hand with an old crow's grip. "But you have managed very well on your own, I see. I remember when you were a little girl, horsing around in your mother's laboratory. Look at you, leading your own research now."

Cortana cleared her throat again. "It's actually a subsidiary of my mother's project."

 _'As if you didn't know everything about it.'_ she thought, annoyed.

Dr. Ford gave her a long, silent look. Then he patted the back of her hand again.

"We should have a meal together before getting down to business." he decided, then he addressed to Spartan Locke, his presence becoming relevant to Cortana again. "You take it from here."

"Yes, sir." the Spartan agreed, with a nod.

Cortana didn't resist; Dr. Ford drove her towards the heart of the Base, and as she left, her eyes drifted back to Blue Team and the scene she was leaving behind. It didn't surprise her to notice that, even though he was standing still in attention, John's helmet was slightly turned in her general direction... she'd swear she could feel his burning blue eyes on every inch of her skin.

 

*****

 

Her real name was _Elizabeth_.

The Master Chief savored it on his tongue for a little while, deciding he liked Cortana better. Elizabeth was a name too sweet for someone like her, who could be both strict and wild. He liked even less the tension he sensed on her on the brief moments Cortana was talking to the newly arrived Spartan. The armor tag read 'Locke' and he didn't know him -fair enough, he didn't know a lot of Spartans, he wouldn't know any of the IV if it wasn't for Cortana's armor testing project- but the woman obviously did.

Her body language gave away controversial signs that he couldn't help but pick up.

Her uneasiness transpired off her with the same intensity as the need to fuck did.

It somewhat worried him, but John couldn't say why. For a moment he pictured himself standing by her side, keeping Spartan Locke at bay with an intense stare. However, also for some reason beyond his understanding, the Master Chief was convinced that Spartan Locke wouldn't be as easy to submit as Fred, and that certainty made his blood run faster. It made him want to step up and back her up.

She knew this man, and this man made her feel bad.

But she also knew Dr. Ford. And that made John feel a bit bad.

If Dr. Halsey had been a God-like creature to him, Dr. Ford was some sort of a Devil-like nightmare. On the outside, Halsey and Ford seemed to be the same kind of people. Both were the smartest and most important representatives of their respective fields, but wherever Dr. Halsey somewhat tried to make amends for the various mistakes of her past, Dr. Ford was more interested in results and possibilities, in exploring what lied beyond and beneath. He had no real boundaries, only secrets. Halsey and Ford had been dealing with the borderlines of immorality most of their lives, but in the end he was the only one who didn't care about it.

It could be said that the one thing that separated them, was the ability to feel guilt.

And that was what brought them together in the first place: _guilt._

John didn't know about the misdemeanors, but he knew that Dr. Halsey and Dr. Ford had been very close once. They worked together, when he was a child. They made him who and what he was.

 _She had built him like a war machine and that man educated him to think like one_.

He didn't have to look at his combat siblings to know they all were troubled. Back when they were young, whenever the name of Dr. Ford was spoken in a conversation, it didn't mean good things. It meant that Chief Mendez would 'work them' until exhaustion and sometimes there would be punishment in the form of training exercises under extreme conditions, with challenging decisions to be made. Bad memories arose, the death of Sam being the most prominent of them all.

John took a deep breath to clear his mind, and followed the group when he was told to.

SHIELD Base had sixteen Spartan subjects approved for armor testing, of which four were Spartan II, four were Spartan III and another four were Spartan IV. All of them were called together to a meeting, led by Dr. Ford himself, in which it was explained to them that SECTION-III had commanded a series of non-invasive tests to be performed during the course of three stages. It was mandatory, nobody could elude the procedures.

John already knew what it was all about, he and the rest of Blue Team had been under Dr. Ford's famous three-stage behavioral tests many times. The first stage was a complex IQ test, designed to challenge the mind of a Spartan and tease the limitation of their tactical and strategic training. The second test was quite confusing, it consisted on a questionnaire with more than five hundred irrelevant statements to which the subjects had to answer true or false, but the Master Chief never understood the purpose of said test. Statements such as _'Sometimes my soul abandons my body', 'I don't like to cook', 'I am afraid of going insane', 'I hear as well as other people do', 'I love to dance', 'Some of my dreams are about sexual subjects', 'I keep things I never use'_ or _'I am not afraid of water'_ didn't seem important to the future of mankind.

And the third and final stage was a personal interview with Dr. Ford.

If he had to be honest, John was a little concerned about the interview. Although Dr. Ford always said there were no right or wrong answers, he had the feeling that this was a huge lie. Dr. Ford was expecting to obtain something from his subjects, and he knew very well how to work on them to get what he wanted, to unearth their deepest, darkest secrets and thoughts.

And John had a secret that he needed to keep in the dark. Not for his own good, _but for hers_.

The Master Chief tried to be practical. He did what was expected of him and focused to his best to exceed at the IQ test and to answer truthfully that long-ass questionnaire. He was given two days of rest after these tests, in preparation for the interview. The free time didn't help him to feel more at ease and he wasn't allowed to go into cryo-sleep for the time being, so he invested in physical training, eating, doing armory duty, reading the new manuals and studying videos of old exercises, until he couldn't bear it anymore.

He wanted to see Cortana.

He wanted to feel her close, to taste the sweet scent of her skin.

God, he wanted to pin her to the nearest wall and _strip her off her clothes_ , so bad. He wondered why she hadn't summoned him these past few days, was she trying to be careful? Maybe she was. It would be reckless to meet when there was so much going on around, when all Spartans were subjects of investigation.

_Maybe if he could just see her, talk to her..._

Maybe that way he could find the strength to ease himself and wait.

John left his team's quarters quickly and unnoticed, like a ghost.

 

*****

 

Since the arrival of Dr. Ford and his team, Cortana had chosen to isolate herself in her facilities to perform some analysis on the object that Blue Team had recovered from the outskirts of the Base compound. She usually pinned such tasks on her assistants, true, but it did a good job keeping her mind occupied and away from the Master Chief... it was also boring enough to keep her underwear dry.

Having her nose buried in work also helped to keep her away from Spartan Locke.

The object at hand was a small section of a structure, Covenant in origin, probably part of the outer hull of a small ship. It was about the size of a Warthog and it took up most of the space inside the sealed biohazard lab, but she was comfortable moving around, taking samples and notes. This piece of wreckage had been adrift in space for long centuries and finally crash-landed on their planet. It wasn't radioactive, which was a good thing, but it housed a wide variety of unknown residues that Cortana felt imperative to analyze with propriety.

When her head started spinning, she decided to take a break.

She needed to eat something. Cortana changed into her day attire -a skirt to the knee, a white blouse buttoned up front, comfortable shoes and her good old white lab coat- and went to sit on the closest recreational area with a cup of fresh coffee, a nutritional bar and some good music.

She almost choked on her coffee when she saw Spartan Locke at the other side of the indoors park. He was in resting uniform, which for Spartans consisted in pretty much BDU's pants and training boots over the black and silver exo-suit he was supposed to wear underneath his MJOLNIR armor. The worst part was that when he detected her presence, the man smiled and approached...

"Hey." he greeted, surprised, grabbing a chair to sit closer. "I haven't seen you in days."

"I've been very busy." Cortana hurried another gulp of coffee.

He stared at her in silence for a short while, then grimaced. "I'd say you haven't slept much either."

She had forgotten that he could read her like a goddamn book. Maybe the dark circles under her eyes were a bit of a giveaway too. She finished her coffee and the last of her nutritional bar as a way to put an end to the conversation, or at least to give him the hint to sod off and leave her alone.

"My work doesn't stop because you people are here." she said, after swallowing.

"It never does, does it?" he chuckled, amused. "Mind if I invite you another coffee? You could use a refill."

"I'm fine, I was just leaving." she stood up.

Locke observed as she gathered her things, then extended an arm across her way.

"Elizabeth, come on. It's just a cup of coffee." his eyes were sincere.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it quick." she almost snarled.

"What's wrong?" he asked, with sincerity. "I thought we were okay, _you told me we were okay_ the last time I saw you. Now you avoid me. I thought I left for Genesis leaving a friend behind, not a hurt ex."

"I can't be your ex. Your wife wouldn't like that."

Cortana grabbed her data-pad and her mug with crisp fingers. She was trembling. She didn't want to look at him, he knew so many things about her. Things she shouldn't have told him. The sexual tension that once brought them together was still there and it was strong, intoxicating, but now Cortana felt repulsed by it. The worse were the memories, those images of her pale skin in contrast with his dark muscles, of their breaths combined, of his fingers invading her everywhere, his lips working magic she never dreamed of, the way he used to surprise her in the least expected of places and invite her to be naughty. She always said yes, because she was bored and the excitement boosted her self-esteem and creativity. He was stimulating and she liked him more and more every day.

Locke took a step back and dropped his arm, his face serious yet gentle.

"Elizabeth, I didn't hide anything from you."

No, he didn't hide it. They were both very aware of the consequences. But he was open and straight to Cortana when he told her that he could literally picture himself fucking her senseless, and that he had the feeling she was thinking about the same. It was the first time a man was so straightforward with her.

It was all her fault, she thought she knew what she was getting into, but...

"I know. And I should've said no. I hate myself for not saying no."

She walked past by him but couldn't anticipate that Locke would grab her and pull her closer, locking her between his arms. She tried to fight back but the moment her furious eyes found his, brown and calm, _in control,_ she went completely still. She was the little rabbit caught under the paws of the big, bad wolf.

She didn't struggle, because she knew he wasn't going to hurt her.

"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I never said I was going to leave Ellen to be with you. It was all temporary. And I think we made the most of it, didn't we? We made each other a little less lonely."

His thumb caressed her blushed cheek, ever so lightly.

She could feel her heart thumping loud on her ears, her knees trembling.

Once more, Locke read her like an open book and took the unspoken invitation of her parted lips. She moaned the mere second their mouths touched, and she gave in. Cortana allowed the kiss because she thought she needed it, and she dropped both the plastic mug and the data-pad to grab his hips. To press herself closer to him, without regards for the integrity of the discarded items. Then his tongue made an entrance and her good judgment went out of the window. Just like she remembered, warm and soft, talented, intense. With just the perfect dose of aggressiveness and might. A kiss that broke the dam of all of her memories and flooded her mind with more images of sex that had been so good that couldn't be wrong, but yet it was. Her body wanted him so bad that it made her feel ashamed. They were never together, it was true. But with him, she hadn't been so alone and that was something she had been grateful for.

 _He was a good kisser_. The best she ever had. The man that ruined her.

Locke traced a lazy trail of kisses from her mouth to her ear, his hands went both down her back and grabbed her ass in a possessive gesture; he whispered:

"I knew it was still in there. Come back to my room with me."

Something in that plea made her snap out of the blissful dream.

He kept dropping small kisses all over her blushed, hot face, but somehow she found the strength to pull her hands up to his chest and push him away.

"No." she said, sharply. "No, Jameson. It's over."

The good thing about him was that he'd been always a gentleman. He chased mercilessly after what he wanted, but he could tell apart a definitive 'no' from a playful one. This time, Cortana was saying no and she meant it. He retreated. She took several steps back and covered her swollen lips with a trembling hand.

"I was right, then." Locke said, his voice firm and kind. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"It doesn't matter anymore." she mumbled, dryly, and stormed away.

 

*****

 

A knot tightened in her belly and Cortana ran towards that level's general bathroom, suddenly the contents of her stomach wanted to exit through the same opening they had entered her body. She could only see up front, looking for that blue sign with the drawings of two dolls.

 _She didn't see him_ stop dead on the corner of the intersection, when she passed through.

 _She didn't hear him_ walk several steps behind, _she didn't notice_ that he had entered the bathroom with her. Cortana just bent over the sink and hyperventilated, expecting the vomit to flow. One, two, three minutes. Nothing happened, and she just closed her eyes to ease herself. Her hand searched for the faucet, she proceeded to wash her face thoroughly with cold water. Much better.

She almost screamed when she stood up and caught his reflection on the mirror.

"Chief!" she yelped, taking a hand to her chest.

None of them said a word for a long while. Her cheeks heated up a little.

"How-how long have you been there?" Cortana stuttered.

"Long enough to tell that something is wrong."

"I'm fine." she growled, and washed her face again.

When she was done, Cortana closed the faucet definitely and took a step away from the sink, upset. He hadn't moved one bit. She noticed he was dressing the same way as Locke, BDU's pants and boots over his gray and light-olive-green exo-suit. The suit she tore apart piece by piece once, not so long ago. Her cheeks were so red now, she felt so hot.

"I don't believe you."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Do what you want."

He smirked. "Careful what you wish for."

She looked at his eyes on the mirror and shivered. The Master Chief didn't look mad but she didn't feel like teasing him right now. And he wasn't her friend either, so she didn't have to tell him shit if she didn't want to.

"I ran into someone I didn't want to see. It didn't go well."

"Spartan Locke."

She opened her mouth to reply but saw John raise his eyebrows, in a gesture that asked politely that she didn't lie to him. She sighed again and nodded. It didn't take her long to connect the dots and figure out why he was there, he probably followed her from the recreational area or somewhere in-between. He maybe even saw her with Locke.

Cortana swallowed hard, ashamed.

"You are afraid of him." John said, calmly.

"He makes me nervous." Cortana corrected him, annoyed.

"What happened?"

She hesitated. "... we were together, a while ago. It's over."

The Master Chief didn't say anything.

"He had a wife." she puffed. "I was bored and he was hot and willing. We slept together for a few months, we grew to like each other. Or at least, I thought he had begun to see me as something more than just a fling. Then one night after a few drinks we were playing this game... I ended up telling him that I wished he wasn't married, so he would stay with me and give me a child. That sort of ruined everything, things got pretty weird between us and one day he showed up saying that he had orders to leave immediately to a newly discovered planet named Genesis. He left. End of story."

John endured in his silence, without moving a single muscle, watching her through her reflection on the silvery surface.

"Why am I even telling you this?" she snarled. "It's not like you care."

And it wasn't like she had to justify herself to him either. Why did she feel like she had to clarify her relationship with Jameson Locke to this man? Her blood was running wild and his presence felt more overwhelming than ever. Maybe she wanted him to be jealous, to act upon it. Last time they had an argument along similar lines, things went overboard and she made an interesting discovery. Cortana shivered thinking about the events in the control cabin.

 _It all started with a little push_.

She closed her eyes, reveling in the tingling sensation between her legs.

"You still want him." John grunted, not amused.

 _'You're so fucking right. How the fuck can you be so right?'_ she thought.

"No. I told you, that is completely over."

The Master Chief leaned in and took a deep breath, tasting in the back of his throat the scent of her aroused blood, sensing on his own skin the furious throbbing of her pulse. His powerful hands rested on the edges of the sink, trapping her between his chest and the porcelain. She was besieged by emotions beyond her control, emotions that began to take over her way before he entered that bathroom. He didn't realize that his presence was fuel pouring in a hungry fire.

"Doesn't seem like." he decided, with another low growl.

"Well, I'm not thinking of him right now." Cortana cut him off, staring at his demon eyes on the mirror. "It's not Jameson Locke who I want."

Her lips were parted and she was breathing heavily.

The red tint on her cheeks was almost too much of a temptation...

_'You are in a very public place, Cortana. Don't do it. Ford is looking for something, you know it. This is why he came. If you do this and get caught, you can say goodbye to your favorite fuck-toy.'_

_'He's mine for as long as I want him.'_ she answered to herself. _'I need him.'_

_'We agreed that you needed a baby, not another broken heart.'_

She turned around slowly, raising her head to find his eyes on flames. So close, so hot. Her mouth felt dry. Cortana dared to lick her own lips and didn't miss the way he followed the gesture with his piercing blue gaze. Her fingertips grazed the hard surface of his exo-suit, tracing a line from his abdomen to his chest.

"Wake up, Chief." she told him, in a husky voice. "I need you."

He glanced briefly towards the open door of the bathroom area and quickly assessed the situation. He couldn't hear anyone approaching. All clear for now. She began to unclasp latches on the front side of his exo-suit but he grabbed both of her hands and held her still, slowly twisting her arms behind her back, pushing her towards his chest. Cortana smiled and closed her eyes, waiting for the fun to begin...

But instead she felt a touch of skin on her forehead, the heat of his breath on her face.

When she looked again, Cortana found this very tall man bent over her, his forehead on hers, his eyes wide open and serious staring at her from such a short and intimidating distance. She trembled. It was a mesmerizing sight, but... _what the hell_? She didn't dare to move a single muscle.

"John..." she squeaked, confused.

"Open the latches." he commanded. "It hurts."

She couldn't take her eyes away from his.

Her cheeks flushed again when she understood: he was hard, and the exo-suit didn't have room for an erection. As fast as she could -after dealing blindly with the belt and the zipper of his pants- she tore the four lids that opened the seals on the crotch patch and let his throbbing member bounce free. He groaned, closing his eyes. Their noses rubbed together as John exhaled a relieved sigh.

Oh, God, she could've kissed him. His expression of pleasure was so...

Without looking -she didn't want to look anywhere else- Cortana handled him with gentle strokes until she felt he was more than ready. The pulsing of her core was reaching unbearable heights too.

She needed him, more than ever. "Chief, just..."

"Stay." his voice like thunder, as he pulled the lab coat off her shoulders and his quick hands roamed her chest disengaging one by one the buttons of her blouse. He wasn't going to tear the clothes off from her this time, she had to get out of there fully dressed and presentable. Enthralled, Cortana just let him do as he pleased and within few seconds she felt the cold air on her bare nipples, his fingers teasing the moisture between her legs. And the heat of his cock scorching the exposed skin of her belly.

She was expecting him to sit her on the sink and fuck her brains out, but John turned her around with a gesture far from gentle and then pulled her back into one of the empty stalls. Before she could understand what was going on, from her mouth escaped a hungry groan as he entered her in a swift, single and deep thrust.

 _That was when the fun began_.

Cortana managed to close the stall's door and let out a loud moan, pleasure erupting through her skin a he began to pump his hips into her, fast and ruthless. She must've gotten too loud, because he clasped his huge hand above her mouth and growled something on her ear, like an animal.

She couldn't breathe, so she bit his fingers as hard as possible to make him let go of her face. He gasped and his hand dropped from her mouth to grab her throat, not gently but not in an unpleasant way either. _Much better, indeed._ Cortana adored to feel the tense muscles of his arm snaking around her waist, pushing against her breasts and keeping her pinned down on his lap, her sweaty back securely latched to his rock-hard chest. She let him lead -she had no choice-, so he had her sit on him and he controlled her movements any way he wanted. Sometimes he grabbed her hips and rocked her roughly until she was about to scream; sometimes he moved underneath her body and fondled her breasts to his own heart's content while his other free hand prowled restlessly between her thighs, also trying to make her scream.

And he managed to make her whimper and moan against her own will to stay quiet.

The best feelings -aside from the demanding invasion of her nether regions, of course- were his scorching hot breath on her neck, the hungry caress of his lips on her jaw and the playful nibs on her earlobe. And he knew exactly how and when to switch from one to the other, as if he could read her thoughts.

This was the craziest thing she had ever done: surrender to him in the most unpleasant place of all, a public base bathroom, and let him fuck her right there. She was almost naked and lying helpless on his arms, bouncing recklessly on his lap and completely given to his will and mercy.

And the Master Chief was a merciful God to her, for now.

Anyone could hear the strange noises and enter the area to check on what was going on. Anyone, from any branch or division. She knew it and he knew it as well, it was perfectly clear for them both but they still went after each other without hesitation.

It all felt so dirty, _so wrong_.

Nothing like the sensations Locke had given her in the past, this was...

Cortana moaned and bit her lower lip, eyes closed tight and breath out of control. He kept pushing and slamming beneath her, his hand kept invading her most personal space while his cock conquered the rest. Truth is, he wasn't claiming anything that wasn't already his to begin with, but every time it felt the same; he was taking from her, _taking her_. And she had no problem with that, of course, because this was what she wanted from him. She wanted the heat and the confidence and the abandon, she wanted to be his until her very soul was drained. The Chief slammed her hard and she yelped, feeling the heat grow within her body, reveling on that delicious shiver that took over her and the pleasurable friction of their bodies moving together.

So there they were. This huge half-dressed man sitting on the toilet, booted feet firmly posted on the floor and back propped against the tiled wall, holding tight to this petite almost naked woman bouncing on his lap... her legs spread wide and tangled on his -she even locked her feet behind his calves- and her arms stretched, palms flat against the stall's walls to keep herself up and steady as he worked his way into her orgasm. Cortana felt so hot, so sweaty. So slick.

So empowered, somehow.

She let her head fall back on his shoulder and let go, her breaths quick and shallow, her hips moving in sync with his. They needed the release, swift and dirty, there was no time to waste. He only had that in mind.

She was so close.

There. Almost there...

She barely made it to say few words: "John... John, I'm... Oh, oh God, Oh!"

Her insides imploded, tightening around his thick shaft in rhythmic contractions, wave after wave of wild pleasure. She clenched her teeth, the desire to scream was so intense that swallowing it made her insides hurt. As if he had been waiting for her signal, the Master Chief buried himself in her depths one last time and grabbed both of her hips, roughly pulling her down on his lap. He came with her, spilling the seed of several days of waiting. He had no reason to waste a single drop if it wasn't for her. She lost control of her legs, of her arms. Cortana came again and again around him -above him-, until her body fell limp and the warmth that flooded her insides began to drip down to the tiled floor, inhumanly abundant as usual.

Her mind was completely blank. Nobody was home at the moment.

"You are mine to do as I please, remember?" John whispered to her ear, softly.

"I know." she agreed, panting. _'Oh, God, I know.'_

"You picked me, not him. Keep that in mind, ma'am."

Cortana didn't truly stop to think about the implications of his words.

She just lay there for some long, happy minutes, head lolled back on his shoulder, his nose pressed against her ear, enjoying the blissful quiet. Later on Cortana realized her belly felt a bit hot, and noticed the weight of his big hand right above her bellybutton. It was just there, not pressing, fingers wide spread and gently resting on her sweaty skin. A new wave of feelings washed over her as she tried to ignore the tenderness of the gesture, how delicately he held her.

So protective, so thoughtful.

So stupid. Cortana scowled herself in silence. John was just keeping her body still and balanced so she wouldn't fall off, it had nothing to do with her uterus or the child that might or might not be growing in there.

Speaking of which...

 _'Time to take another test.'_ she thought, still distracted. She had no symptoms yet, but pregnancy symptoms weren't a rule. Some women never had morning sickness, and with all the medical technology available no woman ever had to deal with that kind of stuff again if she didn't want to. _'I'll do it tonight, after everyone is off work.'_

With a long, heavy sigh, Cortana untangled her legs from the Chief's and propped her bared heels on top of his flexed knees. He growled something unintelligible on her ear, low enough to make her insides tingle with a ghostly sensation of pleasure, again. He placed both of his hands on her belly this time, thumbs rubbing soft circles on her skin. His cock slid out of her and so did the excess of rich semen, so she considered it was time to get up and get dressed. If he allowed it, that was...

"There's something important you have to know." she said.

John grumbled and nuzzled her short, sweaty hair with his nose, smelling her.

"This is important, isn't it?" he sighed, carelessly.

"It's about your upcoming interview with Dr. Ford."

"Dr. Ford." he snapped, now serious.

"I'm sure you know each other."

Cortana pulled some toilet paper and carefully cleaned herself, caught the unharmed panties hanging from one of her ankles and pulled the small piece of fabric up to its normal position, then stood up facing the Master Chief. She leaned her back on the closed door of the stall as she straightened and buttoned up her clothes again.

That's when John became extremely aware that his member was showing, covered in a sticky combination of their bodily fluids, and followed her example using toilet paper as well. Once he put the belt of his pants back in place, he answered:

"Yes. Dr. Ford conducted the evaluations and designed the guidelines of the SPARTAN indoctrination along with Dr. Halsey, your mother. I was under his supervision until shortly after my first commission of duty."

"I want you to be careful."

John frowned. Cortana tamed her wild, sweaty hair with a nervous gesture.

"Why?" the Chief asked.

It wasn't like he didn't know that, already.

The woman took in a deep breath, feeling a shiver that had little to do with pleasure.

"Because he is _my father_ and I know he's up to something, that's why."

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_MY GOD. SO MANY BOMBS._

_Told you guys to keep an open mind. The plot thickens, but I won't make it that hard to follow -I said I was just fooling around with this story -. Mark my words, there's big things to come and more delicious orgasms too, but big things to come! Stay tuned and let's discuss today's events. Who wants John to confront Locke? Who wants Cortana to get over her many, many issues? Who wants to see what happens next? I know I do *wink wink* so you know what to do. Leave your drugs... I mean, your thoughts! Love y'all!_

_PS: If you don't like the introduction of characters from other fandoms, blame Cor Tenebrae. It was his idea. He made it sound so irresistible that I just couldn't help myself. He's the Devil, I tell you!_


	7. PART VII

_Alright, we're back! That didn't take so long, did it? *coughs* Well, today's episode will be interesting, not very sexy -okay, maybe a little, I can't help myself- but very, very interesting *evil laughter* We're getting close to the mighty -and sexy- conclusion of this short little series! Stay tuned, see you at the end!_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART VII**

 

Cortana asked about her father just once, and the answer she got was unsatisfying enough to not want to hear about him anymore. The fact that she had known him for years, even been his undergrad for a couple of months, mattered little when her mother spat out the name at last. She already disliked the man to pieces. Inevitably, Cortana became a renowned scientist in her own right and over the years she'd been engaged in several contracts that forced her to cross paths with Dr. Robert Ford or some of his subordinates, so she got to know his professional side pretty well.

That's why she advised John to be careful during his own interview. Ford was a smart man. He was an expert in reading people and making educated guesses. And a SPARTAN II subject he had modeled all by himself since childhood was the easiest target that there was, so susceptible to psychological manipulation...

And since she was the director of SHIELD Base, Cortana had the right to stand in the adjacent room as a witness, behind the one-way mirror-shield, when Ford called John in. The Lieutenant and the other two members of the Master Chief's team had already been through with their interviews, and all interviews had been conducted in a very similar way so far. Everything was recorded for posterior analysis, of course; video, audio and all sorts of vitals alike.

However, John's interview was a slightly different event.

Unable to do something without giving herself away, Cortana sat down on a lonely chair behind the one-way mirror-shield and just listened, one after another, the inquiries Ford threw at John, and the careful replies John gave. It was explained to the Spartan that there was an important issue with his unit and he, as team leader, could be held as the responsible if SECTION III didn't get to the bottom of it. Dr. Ford was careful enough not to pinpoint the problem directly and most of his questions were unrelated and harmless. Cortana knew that the answers per-se didn't matter, that the intonation, the choice of preferences and the little alterations in John's vitals would give Ford everything he wanted to know.

_Then, the old man pulled up the pictures..._

It had been a trap, just as she suspected.

Cortana couldn't do anything but watch with increasing worry, and trust John's wits.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

There was a hidden logic to the cross-examination, and the whole time John had felt like he'd been walking through a minefield. The Spartan sensed he stepped on two or three of these metaphorical mines, but tried to give his best to answer in the most neutral fashion he could think of. All of them were silly questions without context. He even had to put some color swatches in whichever order he saw most appropriate, and he still didn't know what that had to do with his status as Blue Team's leader and authority figure. His eyes were perfect, that he knew of.

He returned the data-pad after the color swatches task, and Dr. Ford nodded.

"Good." the old man greeted him, taking back the device. He tapped on it a few times and then looked at John, seemingly content. "The last test I have for you is much simpler, you just have to sit back and relax..."

The room's lightning dimmed to a light blue, the darkness broken only by the reflection of a white square that appeared on the wall right up front the Master Chief's seat. He didn't even flinch, but his senses spiked on alert. He wasn't expecting this. Not long afterwards the picture of a nice sunset over a field of tall, round, yellow flowers, unknown to him, showed up instead of the white square.

"... and tell me the first couple of words that come to your mind with every picture I will show you. Start now." Dr. Ford added, after a very short silence.

This was something new, a game they had never played before. However, John analyzed the picture rather quickly.

"Peace. Quiet. Freedom." he said, then fell silent.

The Doctor nodded once, the picture changed.

It was a dog. A regular UNSC enhanced combat dog, huge animals bred especially to aid Spartans in ground combat or medical teams in rescue operations. Common resource, like a Pelican or a Marine company. Blue Team had more than a few canine companions over the years. Good memories of brave and noble creatures.

The words came easy. "Friend. Loyal."

The next picture was a Sangheili, but not just any Sangheili. The Arbiter himself, one of the greatest leaders of his people and a good friend of the UNSC. John didn't react badly to the image of an alien that he held great respect for, on the contrary, the sight of the familiar golden segmented armor relaxed him. Another one that was easier than breathing.

"Ally. Honorable."

"Very good." Dr. Ford cleared his throat. "Stay focused."

The shift surprised John. The following image was of an UNSC warship engaged in combat with a small Covenant fleet. The UNSC ship was losing the fight, for what could be seen; half of her hull had been blown away or melted down, it looked quite sad. But wait, only one ship against a fleet?

"Ambush." John spat out. "Defeat."

Ford pulled up the picture of an unspecified city being glassed down to ashes. It didn't matter where it was or if the picture was real or a montage, John had seen enough glassing to know what to feel and think about this.

"Revenge." was the only thing he could say that time.

Next picture, after his short silence. The same glassing scene, augmented to show the close-up of a dead body. A woman, he could tell, her skin scorched and her arms loosely closed around a smaller figure, bloodied and blackened by ashes and smoke, just as her. None of them had any hair or clothes left, just a thin layer of dust that would gradually cover their remains until they were not visible anymore. Dismissed, forgotten. Faceless victims. The Master Chief's vitals spiked this time, telling what his face didn't. His stomach shrunk painfully, although he had seen worse in his life as a soldier.

Something about _these particular dead bodies_ distressed him.

"Casualties." he mumbled, numb. "Loss. Regret."

Ford grunted something, the next picture didn't come as fast as the others.

This time it was the image of an apple tree growing at the top of a derelict hill. The tree was crooked and half of it was burned and dead, yet the other half was green with healthy leaves, and the branches were loaded with red apples. Big and luscious fruit, ready to be picked up. The soil at the roots of the apple tree was also spotted with green little leaves, baby grass that one day, soon enough, would spread quickly through the devastation. John's stomach settled, and he sighed.

"Rebirth. Life." the Master Chief said, confidently. "Hope."

Something that could be identified as a suburban neighborhood, away from a big city. It was a pamphlet photo of some private village, most likely, everything on it looked too good to be true, from the pretty house to the perfectly green grass and the white picket fence, the happy family smiling for the camera and the tiny dog with a brown spot over its left eye. He had seen commercials like that before. Propaganda, mostly.

A long lost concept, but people kept clinging to it for some reason.

"Fake." he said, all of a sudden. That was all.

"Nothing else?" Ford asked, nonchalantly.

"It's a lie." the Spartan repeated.

"Families are lies, One-One-Seven?" the Doctor seemed very interested.

"No, it's just..." John started again, in doubt. "That kind of family looks fake."

"Interesting." the old man tapped his pad again. "Let's try another route, then."

The Spartan looked at the screen once more, and held his breath.

It was a picture of an unidentified woman in civilian clothes, a blue summer dress and a wide straw hat, sitting by the ocean's shore. Petite but rather curvy, heart-shaped face, short dark hair combed at her chin and a smile as warm as a thousand suns. Her eyes were blue and shiny, her skin pale and fragile. She was very pretty, alright. This woman reminded John of someone else. She looked good, content. The smile on her beautiful lips didn't seem rehearsed for the picture and the natural feeling of the overall composition made the Master Chief's voice crack:

"Real." he said, before he could control his tongue. "I mean, looks natural."

"You don't have to explain your choices of words, One-One-Seven. Just speak up."

"Yes, sir."

The image of the unknown woman lingered on for a while, long enough for John's mind to superimpose Cortana's face with hers for a millisecond. He blinked and forced himself to stay focused.

As it happened before with the picture of the glassing, the picture of the woman expanded to show more of the beach and the ocean's waves, some tall grass on the sand and a road made of flat rocks, a distant concrete structure with a few windows and very little color. It was cozy despite being clearly a standardized post-war house design. The sand was scattered with tracks of an animal and small human feet, a child's feet. The woman was still sitting on the sand, looking towards the kid now.

The image lingered again, as John's vitals eased significantly.

"Home." he said, again, without thinking. "Future. Possibilities. Protect."

"Alright, now the last one."

This new picture was something it didn't take him long to identify.

“Sacrifice,” John said, staring at the image of a MJOLNIR’s helmet lying over a metallic grating. The place seemed to be a standard UNSC base or ship’s corridor. The helmet was splattered with red and its visor cracked on the side. Olive green and of a rather generic, old model, but...

The Master Chief couldn't help to have a bad feeling about what he was seeing.

Dr. Ford shut down the projected screen and the lights inside the room turned back on. John blinked out of his numbness and stood up immediately, tall and proud in front of his mentor as he always did. He was feeling sort of cold, his exo-suit bleeped low and a warm sensation flooded his senses and skin, all over his body. The old man was working on his pad, he seemed very busy with the graphics and statistics, running analysis and such; but after a while, he noticed his subject was still there, waiting.

"That was all, One-One-Seven. You can go now. Thank you."

"Dr. Ford. Sir." John saluted with the utmost respect and marched out.

The Spartan wasn’t going to ask how he did. None of them asked.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

In the other room and unbeknownst to John, Cortana was holding her hands pressed hard on her mouth, her whole body shivering and her eyes full of tears that, for some reason, refused to roll down her cheeks.

The worst part? She had no idea why she was feeling like an ungrateful bitch again.

Or why she wanted to cry, either.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

The image of the beach, the generic post-war house and the woman with the Straw hat stuck to John’s thoughts for a while longer tan he wanted to admit. So long that he didn’t sense he was being followed. That could've been a fatal mistake in any other instance of his life, but this...

"Master Chief!" a strong male's voice echoed down the corridor, along with quick and heavy steps. "A minute, please?"

John halted and turned around. He didn't like what he saw.

"Spartan Locke." he said, and saluted when the other one did.

It was hard to remember his place in the chain of command when all he wanted to do was punch Locke in the face until it was all bloodied and swollen, but John managed it. There were many implicit parameters he checked in the back of his mind whenever he measured an opponent. He didn't know he was doing it, it was all imprinted in his behavior so deeply that he ran the analysis on auto-pilot and the results just floated to the surface of his awareness.

For example, the fact that this male, fellow Spartan but a lesser male nonetheless, didn't really act like he was acknowledging him as leader. Spartan Jameson Locke was in charge of his own team and, some could argue, a rising star with a legend of his own; but all John could see was a shorter, bulkier and perhaps stronger male that once, some time ago, laid his hands on the female that had chosen him as a partner now. Maybe he was good enough and that was why Cortana chose to lie with him, but his presence made her upset now. John didn't care. Locke was still a lesser male, like Fred and all the others.

Nothing personal, of course. Just survival of the fittest.

The thing was, Locke didn't look down, not even slightly away, whenever eye contact ensued. He did not shy away surreptitiously, or step aside to let the Master Chief through. He didn't desist in his attempts to see Cortana or talk to her, even though his actions very clearly were not welcome by her.

 _No._ Locke stood on his way, forcing John to remain in the middle of the hallway.

And he was smiling.

"Master Chief, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last."

Locke offered his hand, cheerfully. John responded to the salutation with enough pressure to crush the other man’s hand, but found himself matched in strength. He looked at the other Spartan in the eye. Alright, he had been augmented well.

"Likewise." the Master Chief said, out of courtesy.

"I've been trying to get you alone for some time now, wanted to introduce myself."

"I know who you are."

Locke seemed a bit surprised. "You do?"

"Anyone with ties to SECTION III has heard of you."

"I hope you heard only the good things, then." Although John didn't answer, Locke's proud smile didn't falter and he added, after a short silence. "I admit I managed to make myself noticed, yes. But I don't think I would've made it so far without you, Master Chief. You are an inspiration to us all."

John slightly cocked an eyebrow, not really surprised.

He didn't want to brag about it, but it was sort of routine that wherever he was deployed or stationed, people would tell him or his team something like this. That they were fighting because he had inspired them. That they were thankful for his service, for his devotion to duty, for his help or whatever. It made him feel good within the limits of his humbleness, that much was true; to know that he was working for the greater good and that Humankind was able to acknowledge it warmed up his soul, but when Locke said it, it sounded...

Like the propaganda picture of the happy family with the perfect picket fence house.

"Can I have my hand back?" Locke asked, with a short laugh.

John let him go slowly. He didn't like this man. He didn't like him at all.

And he knew very well why.

"Master Chief, I really can't tell you how influential..."

But the Master Chief wasn't listening anymore. He thought of Cortana pinned down under this man's weight, moaning out his name as he pounded her long and hard, just the way she liked it. He pictured her in all sorts of positions, her heavy breasts bouncing, her perfect skin covered in sweat and bite marks, scratches, this man's sweat. That sweet and hot spot between her legs, dripping and swollen, eager to be invaded. John clenched his teeth under a perfectly calm face as he had visions of that incredible female naked and bent over her desk, screaming out her pleasure, as this inferior male took her.

 _As he emptied himself inside of her and filled her womb with his child_.

But the worst... John pictured her _kissing him_ , and he nearly lost it.

Maybe he did lose it, because Locke's smile gradually faded and turned into a frown.

"Chief, are you alright? You look... unnaturally still."

"I have a schedule, Spartan Locke."

Locke paled, raised his hands immediately. "Of course, I'm sorry. Rain-check?"

John gave him a courteous nod before exchanging salutes again and walked away, leaving the other Spartan stupefied with his right hand half raised. As he stormed out from the medical facilities, the Master Chief set himself to make sure Cortana understood for good that she was his to take care of now. That she had not made a poor choice when she picked him to breed her a child.

And he knew how to do that just right.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

Cortana had absolutely no idea why she had accepted a dinner invitation with her father, but there she was anyway. Oh, right; yes. The old man had said they should have dinner some time, maybe that was the reason. It didn't matter anymore. She had hopes to chug on wine until she was drunk enough to bear the Doctor's conversation without wanting to punch him on the face, but she remembered she had to take a pregnancy test later that night, so she better not drink. She hadn't been drinking at all since she arrived to SHIELD Base, for what it was worth.

But why in her quarters, for fucks sake? Why didn't she think of any other place?

Dr. Ford had been talking about his latest achievement for a while now. She tried to eat her pasta and pay attention, but it was difficult. It was so boring. She didn't care about his little experiments, she didn't approve of any of them.

So she decided to change the subject:

"Why are you here?" the expletive didn't surprise her as much as it should have. "I mean, SECTION III could've sent anyone to do this. I can understand their concerns, but I don't see a logical reason for your involvement, specifically."

The Doctor interrupted his dissertation on whatever and looked at her.

"I am here because of One-One-Seven, specifically. He's one of mine."

Cortana sighed.

"Yes, but still..."

"I can't disclose evaluation results." Dr. Ford interrupted her this time.

She gave him an exasperated smile. "That's not what I'm asking you. I want to know about your personal motivation to travel all the way here, leaving behind good old and cozy Reach and that apartment which is the closest that you can be to my mother without you having to visit her. You're twenty years older than her, and she is not a young gal anymore either. None of you go to the action, the action is usually taken to you."

"I didn't know you were so worried about my old bones."

"I'm not." she made sure to clarify, before biting a fork full of pasta.

Dr. Ford smiled without showing his teeth, and nodded.

"Like I said, he's one of mine. One-One-Seven has always been a mystery to me. How and why your mother picked him eludes me... I know there's more than genetics included, but she certainly chose right. I tend to keep an eye on the ones that show superb capabilities and he is one superb specimen." Dr. Ford commented, stirring the contents of his plate with a slow movement designed to look lazy, unimportant. After a few seconds, he stopped and lifted his faded blue gaze to find Cortana's eyes. "I can see why he is so appealing to you."

"He is a good test subject, yes." Cortana commented, distracted.

The old man studied her beautiful face with detail, quietly.

"Indeed." he said, after a moment. "Your mother's program did a good number on him."

Her mother's program? Cortana frowned.

And what about his indoctrination program? If anything, Dr. Ford was the one to blame for any 'programming failures' the SPARTAN II subjects could be showing now. He didn't like the spotlight, maybe, but he was a prideful bastard: wouldn't miss the chance to put his name where everyone could see it.

"What are you talking about now?"

"It made him tame. Reliable, obedient. Dull. Not great in terms of social interaction or basic human etiquette, but efficient and determined. You know, _like a dog._ He won't go beyond what he is trained to do. It just doesn't fit inside his head, his complete lack of creativity makes him the perfect soldier. No rebellious instinct, no desire to bite the hand that keeps him alive. Just an immense dedication to please superiors and commitment to the ultimate sacrifice." he had picked up his glass of wine during the speech, made a pause to take a sip and taste the beverage before dropping the last line: "Everything this war effort ever needed, a well trained dog. "

Cortana remained silent for a moment.

Her thoughts were dancing around one little sentence. _'You know, like a dog'_.

 _A well trained dog_. She felt a lump lying heavy inside her stomach and her right hand went straight to give herself an unconscious massage under the table.

"And to keep a dog tame like that, you need to eliminate distractions." he continued.

"So what are you looking for, exactly?"

Ford waved a hand, feigning disinterest. "Irregularities. The medical and performance reports suggest Blue Team is acting out of their expected range of predictable behavior. The group is disrupted. That is not good for them."

"I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary." she pointed out, quickly.

"One-One-Seven just can't hide it, not from me." his smile was terrifying. It said he already knew everything he wanted to know, and he was just playing with her. Or maybe evaluating her. "He's the source of the disruption, and it intrigues me, because he's never been sexually active before... well, not at this inhuman level, at least."

All of a sudden, Cortana's heart began to race..

She could almost feel on her skin how time slowed down as her eyes met her father's.

"You already know." she mumbled, angry. She wasn't stupid.

"I figured it out a while ago. You have all of your mother's most prominent and desirable features, Elizabeth, but also some of her most sordid traits. You think you are smarter than everyone else. And you think that bearing a Spartan's child is a good idea."

 She tried to keep a straight face and she managed nicely, despite the fact that she was screaming inside. Even when she didn't want to, her brain was already going through the many ways this could go sideways and become a public disaster. She had already found twenty-three possible scenarios when her lips moved again:

"I concur with the _sordid traits_ part. My mother thought that bearing _your child_ was a good idea."

"You might not like me, Elizabeth, but it doesn't make me any less right."

"How did you find out? I witnessed the interview, you didn't..."

"An unprecedented surge in his levels of testosterone, training reports with results off the charts, a vigilant, predatory attitude in my presence? One-One-Seven is still enough of a mammal to be taken over by his alpha male instincts. He's been sexually active for the past few weeks. _Intensely active._ I know One-One-Seven well enough to know he'd rather keep his frustrations to himself than to go looking for company, so it had to be someone with enough authority to seduce him into breaking protocol. I discarded all the highest ranking officers easily, it wasn't difficult to deduce you could be at the other end of the equation. I didn't have to read your medical reports, which, by the way, are classified for some reason. For him, all I had to do to confirm was to bring in a possible rival, trigger him off." Ford commented, serious and incisive this time.

 _'Locke.'_ Cortana thought, feeling cornered.

The old man took a deep breath, exhaling slowly afterwards, and then continued:

"Your mother came to me looking for a child and was dead straight to me about it. She didn't want a relationship although we were working together in the same project. She didn't need me involved with the kid either. She knew little Miranda didn't want to stay with her on Reach, so she figured she could use another child to mitigate the loneliness that would eventually overcome her. You are following on Catherine's footsteps, Elizabeth, but you are not your mother."

She couldn't take him for a fool, that much was true.

Cortana leaned in, hovering above the narrow table.

"Of course I am not my mother." she said, angry. "I know how to pick my partners."

"Well, you picked yourself a well trained dog, I have to give you some credit for that. The thing is, this dog will not love you back because he is unable to do so." Ford frowned, he was becoming a little upset too. "You are such a much better version of your mother, Elizabeth, you have a heart that actually works full time. It deserves better. You shouldn't mistreat it like that, throwing your feelings away so easily."

She found herself speechless again, imperceptible and warm little tears brimming her eyes. It came to her mind the memory of him looking at the picture of the woman sitting on the beach, and how his overall stance had relaxed. Even if he didn't know, if he couldn't understand, John longed for something like that; he wanted peace.

 _He was not a dog, but he needed a home_.

Something she couldn't give him, right? So foolish.

"We have a pretty specific agreement." she said, slowly. "John... the Master Chief and I agreed to keep this going until I got pregnant, there's nothing else between us than sex and a defined purpose. He agreed to father a child for me, I agreed to keep his career intact and the arrangement in secret. Nobody had to know."

"Your secret arrangement is jeopardizing our chances to win the Covenant War."

"That's not true."

"You have no idea of the consequences this could have on him." Ford insisted. Then, after a short silence, his tone changed again and he added, softly: "And neither do I, to be honest. This opportunity is as good as any to do some research, don't you think?"

Wait, what?

Cortana raised from her chair, slowly, her jaw hanging halfway to the floor.

"... you are not here to stop me, then?"

"There's no stopping it now, Elizabeth." the old man feigned a little smile.

So he was going to turn them into another of his social experiments? Right, because there was just so much to learn from the mysterious Spartans, of course. They were like a different and unknown kind of humans, man-made like many other species and things. They were just specimens. He said it just fine, even she kept thinking about John in that filthy, dishonorable way. She had considered him as a thing, as a machine that only existed to please her and give her what she wanted.

It was so fucked up. She didn't want to feel like this, _she wasn't like them!_

Cortana felt sick, very sick. Sick with shame and a twisted sense of betrayal.

She felt like she had betrayed John, for some reason.

"Dinner is over, I have work to do." she cut him off before Dr. Ford could say another word, grabbed her coat and nearly ran away from her quarters. She had to lock herself in her lab all night, just to be safe.

She needed to clear her head, think carefully.

Her father wasn't leaving anytime soon, that much was already settled.

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

It was nearly 3 AM standard Earth time.

With all the stress from that day, Cortana forgot completely about her pregnancy test. She had too much in her mind. There was important work to do, processing samples from the artifact that came from space, to make sure it didn't carry anything harmful for the people of SHIELD Base. She had assistants, of course, but this was something she had to do by herself.

Cortana sighed deeply and rubbed her bloodshot eyes as the black and hot coffee poured down in another plastic cup, one that would end up halfway finished and added to her increasing collection of plastic cups scattered across the biohazard lab. She didn't want to look at herself on a mirror, she sure looked like crap. Who cared, anyway? She pulled up John's schedule on her data-pad and noticed he wasn't on duty anymore, but his ID tag showed that he was moving. After analyzing the pattern for a short while, she understood what was going on.

"He's coming this way." she observed, sort of scared.

Why did it disturb her so much to see that he was moving by his own will?

She ran into her office and straightened her hair and clothes a little, cursing under her breath. Leaving her father and her quarters in such a hurry, she didn't remember to change out of that cute and short dress with a pattern of blue flowers over a black background. She had a feeling that the Master Chief was going to meet her.

Why else would he be roaming around at 3 AM instead of sleeping to be well rested for his next shift?

Cortana hurried to clear her desk, throwing away coffee cups half full of liquid. She properly closed all the sample incubators and processed the last bits of data, putting away the Petri dishes with the biological cultures she'd been studying. Too bad she had no time to analyze those little yellow specks, like pollen.

She had to make sure they weren't Flood spores, but...

He knocked on the glass door and she swallowed a yelp. Bad call, bad call. She was too nervous, not dressed properly, her office was so open. Security rounds were every forty five minutes, letting him in was a bad idea seeing that he wouldn't have any trouble making her panties disappear.

She noticed she had tapped the door control before she could tell herself not to do it.

God dammit. God fucking dammit.

 _'Cortana, what the fuck?'_ her aware mind yelled at her.

No time to argue, he was already in. She had to smile to disguise her distress.

How could she look at his face again, after all that had happened that day? She knew she had to talk to him sooner or later, exchange intel about the interview and what she had just learned about her father, but Cortana knew this wasn't the time for that. He looked serene. His eyes, steel blue and predatory as always, seemed peaceful.

"Chief." she greeted him. "What are you doing up so late, huh?"

"I couldn't sleep."

Straight answer, good.

"I have a lot of work to do." she tried to justify herself, nervously. "So if you don't mind, I'd rather go back to that. You can see yourself out."

_'Go. Please, just go. Obey and leave... do what I say.'_

_'You keep treating him like a dog. Good job, Cortana.'_ her other side said.

_'Shut up! I can't get carried away this time!'_

_'You didn't mind much when he pulled you inside a bathroom stall and gave you some.'_

_'Fuck you. I can control myself.'_

"Spartan Locke got to me earlier today."

Cortana froze in the act of turning around to escape into the biohazard lab.

"What do you mean he got to you? What did he say?" she inquired, worried.

"Nothing relevant."

"What did he say?"

"It wasn't what he said." he looked away, pressing his lips together.

That caught her attention more than it should have. Both his words and attitude.

She forgot that she shouldn't be so close to this man and approached him, her eyes always on his face. He seemed... upset, maybe? What could be so bad to affect him in such a way?

"What happened, Chief? If you don't tell me, I can't help."

"Actually, you can't help. I have to sort this out myself."

"What do you mean now?" frustration slipped in her voice.

He took a deep breath, his wide chest and shoulders seemed to stretch making him look even bigger, heavier. She didn't say anything, just waited -and didn't miss the chance to take a good look at him. Good Lord, she loved to look at him and wonder how would their child look like-. It took him forever to actually manage to go to the point, something that wasn't usual:

"I don't like him."

"Well, I don't like him either, we made that clear the other day. Remember?" The look he gave her said that he remembered well enough, every second of it. Cortana's skin grew hotter. "Look, Chief, if you think I can't help, then I probably can't. Now, if you please..."

"I don't like knowing that he had you."

She held her breath for a second or two, surprised.

"Why?" she had to ask. "It's ancient history, I said. He doesn't have me anymore."

 _'Jesus, is he jealous for real?'_ she thought.

_'Wasn't that what you wanted, to trigger his male instincts so he could fuck you better?'_

_'Not like this! This is not a game! I'm not trying to turn him on right now!'_

"And you don't have me either, for what's worth. You know that, right?" she added.

Big mistake. She shouldn't have said that.

John's eyes darkened immediately, his stance became rather aggressive: fists clenched, feet slightly spread, shoulders stiff. Oh, he was onto something. Cortana took a step back, although she wasn't really afraid of him... no. She couldn't believe herself. She was getting excited.

"You are mine." he growled, but it wasn't a threat. "Mine to do as I please."

"Until I get pregnant, that's right."

He swallowed hard, harder than she did.

"You said..."

She tried to keep a straight face. "You only get to fuck me so good because I allow you to. I consent to it every time. Yes, I wanted to have some good sex and to get a baby out of it, no strings attached, but you can't forget that you don't own me. The UNSC owns you, and I am the UNSC." Cortana took in a deep breath. "Anything I say when you are deep inside me, filling me up... that doesn't count. It's not real, John. I compromise to be yours and only yours while this arrangement is deemed to last, but I don't belong to you."

She saw it. Oh, she saw the hurt and the anger in his eyes.

It hurt her too, of course. She pressed her lips together and tried to calm down.

"Cortana..." he attempted to move.

"Stay back." she ordered, when her butt collided with the edge of a desk.

He took a big step forward, ignoring her plea.

"Cortana." John repeated, with a growl.

She realized this was probably the first time he ditched formalities with her. He had been disciplined and respectful even in their dirtiest moments, keeping her always in that debatable superior position in which she was still the boss -he always called her _ma'am_ -, yet this time he used her name.

Well, he didn't say 'Elizabeth', but...

Maybe he wasn't talking to Elizabeth at the moment.

Maybe she wasn't Elizabeth Halsey when she was with him. She was only Cortana, a woman he had helped to rise from the ashes of an unhappy, always busy and permanently stressed out scientist. A vixen in heat that pushed his buttons until he couldn't take it anymore. A she-wolf that wanted to be tamed and was in dire need of a proper master, a master who didn't put up with her shit.

But he would never be, Dr. Ford was right about this.

Tame. Reliable. Dull. The perfect soldier.

 _A well trained dog_.

Cortana squeezed her fists, upset. John was so much more than a trained dog. She could prove it, couldn't she? No. No, everything he would do next, if she let him get any closer, would be what she expected of him. Reliable. She was almost certain this time he wouldn't satisfy her completely unless she made him work for it. She had to push him, break him out from the shell of the perfect soldier and tame dog. If she wanted to prove someone wrong, it had to be this way.

She had to unleash him completely, turn this man into a beast in heat. He was angry and he was hurt, and maybe this was what it would take to push him to the next level. She had no idea when had she changed her mind and decided they were going to have another of their steamy sessions right there, but it was settled.

 _Now, she had to let go of her own restraints as well_.

Her heart skipped a beat and she licked her lips, getting ready for the action.

"My name is Elizabeth Sarah Halsey." she shouted, ass propped against the desk's table.

"I like Cortana better." he growled, perceiving her arousal.

He came close enough to drop his impressive shadow on her, to smell the perfume she had chosen to wear for that stupid dinner. She could smell him as well, standard issue soap and angry male ready to pounce. Explosive combination. Irresistible.

"That's not my name." she insisted.

"It's who you are to me. It's who I am thinking about right now."

The intense look in his steel blue eyes added silently _'It’s who I want to fuck senseless any way I please.'_ , and she swallowed very hard, again. Then Cortana noticed he was looking at her full and parted lips, like so many other times before this. She thought of that last encounter in the bathroom, in how she almost slipped and gave his mouth a taste. Her heart skipped another beat, racing faster and faster. She imagined he bit her lower lip and groaned oh so sexily, and her panties felt weird all of a sudden, the scent of it making him more and more uneasy. Her dark eyes were gleaming with desire, every inch of her body screamed for his touch.

For fucks sake, she wanted him to use his lips and tongue everywhere.

"What am I to you, then?" she couldn't help but blurt out. "I thought we both agreed that this was just sex. And benefits, of course, but mostly sex."

He didn't answer, just cornered her between the desk and his unbeatable presence. Her hands went straight to stop him, resting on his chest in case she had to push him away. Like she could, anyway.

 She had no chance, no way to resist.

"John." she moaned, unable to do anything else but to close her eyes.

"You smell like home." he whispered, rubbing his nose and forehead on her cheek.

That was all it took. She swallowed a squeak, her lips trembled as her stomach shrunk and her knees weakened. She managed to recover before her legs gave up, but she'd never been so turned on before. The sound of his voice, the intoxicating proximity of his huge body, the promise of an orgasm that would make her eyes roll to the back of her skull. She was starting to believe that he was the only one who could give her all that.

So she gave in. Because she was stupid, mostly.

"I'm sorry, John." she mewled. "I'm so sorry..."

The moment of first contact was something she would remember forever. Her lips touched his and she felt the fire running through her blood. His stiff hands all of a sudden were gripping her waist, pulling her closer. This man had absolutely no idea about how to kiss, but she could cover that for both: she just made the first step and took his mouth, sucking on his lower lip until he growled under his breath. John wasn’t slow to learn how to do it. Soon he was the one following on her footsteps but when their tongues grazed each other he was the one to produce a surprised moan.

The Master Chief tried to pull away, his breathing was as ragged as hers, but Cortana locked her hands at the nape of his neck and attacked forward, crushing their lips together once more, sucking and biting and tasting him, over and over. Their fingers were fighting each other as much as their mouths were trying to conquer each other, in whichever way it seemed more pleasing.

He was probably the worst kisser ever, but she enjoyed it so much. There was this kind of unmatched sweetness to it that she couldn't resist.

"I'm sorry." she kept saying, as his huge arms circled her waist and lifted her up.

Cortana continued to whisper those words until he broke the kiss apart and applied his lips below her chin, straight to her throat. She laughed, both aroused and delighted. God, _she could get so used to this_.

A part of her wanted to get used to this...

His trail of open mouthed kisses and tongue-play ended at the deep cleavage of her dress, right between her perky breasts propped up by the black lace brassier. He buried his nose between the two soft and warm mounds and breathed in her scent, holding her up in the air against his own body. She was dangerously close to the ceiling, but felt so, so much higher.

Cortana threw her head back and closed her eyes.

Her fingers caressed the back of the Master Chief's neck, and the short hairs on his scalp.

"Fuck me, John." she whispered, between hot and quick breaths. "Fuck me like you never did before."

He grinned against her skin and kissed the valley between her breasts.

"Yes, ma'am."

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_Well, I kinda like how the interview came out. I will leave you all hanging by a thread this time, I am evil that way -yes, they will have a glorious and revealing fuck in the next episode, I promise-. Locke is kinda annoying, isn't he? And what about twisted daddy, huh? That man creeps me out. THEY KISSED! YES, FINALLY! I hope you had some fun, next chapter is the beginning of the final arc so stay tuned, and please, tell me what you think of today's update. Fasten your seatbelts. Stay safe and sexy, Marines! Love you all._

_PS: Thanks so much Cor Tenebrae for the beta-reading. I'm forever grateful n.n_


	8. PART VIII

_Hey there, little pervs! Not so little, I hope. You know if you're not at least 18, you should GTFO from this page, you pure soul. If we're all over 18 we can proceed, because if I remember correctly, last time we left Cortana with a massive lady-boner and now it's time to get down to business. Fasten your seatbelts, like I always say! This is gonna be an extra rough ride, fellows..._

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART VIII**

She couldn't believe such words had actually come out of her mouth.

 _'Fuck me like you never did before.'_ , she had said.

Now her heart was beating so fast it was almost leaping out of her chest, blood rushing everywhere underneath her feverish skin. This was it. This had to be it, what she'd been waiting for. And without even knowing it was bound to happen that night, Cortana was already prepared for it.

After years of experimentation, she had come to the conclusion that sexy underwear had an extra boost to her confidence and the way she enjoyed sex. Which was a bummer, because lingerie was indeed a luxury and -in the aftermath of the Covenant War- lace was an item extremely difficult to come by. As a woman of a certain wealth, she could spend some extra credits here and there and she didn't mind paying the overpriced values some sellers put on those pieces; owning them made her feel almost as good as wearing them. Her preference was black or vibrant blue lace, beautiful and delicate designs with unusual textures and an insane amount of thin strings that could hug and prop up every imaginable part of her body.

None of her partners ever complained, she had an excellent taste. However, some sets she liked to show off now and then and others she kept to herself. For a special occasion, perhaps. It was a reality that cotton was comfortable and safe, easy to get. Plain and boring, but it was good for economy. Elizabeth Halsey wore cotton most of the time because she had to focus on more important stuff, her work was key to save Humanity and it needed dedication.

But this 'Cortana' the Master Chief had come to unveil... _she was special_.

She only cared about pleasure, she wasn't afraid of having too much sex or getting out of hand. If left unsupervised, all she could do was to think of new ways to attract John or challenge him into taking the lead, taking her. She needed more and more, of him and of his touch. I was a rare form of insanity, the development of this incredibly sexual alter-ego that only existed if this man triggered it, and it didn't take much for him to summon her. It made Cortana feel like a naughty dark goddess, her sensual power amplified by the caress of black lace on her soft, pale skin and his rough fingers under the skirt of her silly dress.

That night, she chose to wear lace for a dinner with a father she despised just because he couldn't see under her dress, see how bold she had become. But John was allowed to see, to touch and grab and lick and bite, divide and conquer. _This was for him_. The other woman, the obscure sensual goddess, had moved ahead of Elizabeth and taken over the game.

All the scientist could do now was to sit back, relax...

And enjoy herself.

**x.x.x.x.x**

Cortana moaned when he dropped her sitting on the cold surface of a work table, taller and wider than her desk. She fell so hard that her teeth clattered. She spread her legs to allow him closer and as soon as she attempted to touch, the Chief grabbed both of her wrists and pushed back.

"No." he said, grimly. "I will show you."

"What are you going to show me?" she asked, her breath hot and heavy.

No direct answer, only an intense stare that sent a shiver of fear down her spine.

 _No, it wasn't fear_. It was excitement. Joy. Desire.

He had that look of determination that was so different from his professional attitude. It had a hint of defiance, the delightful spark of rebellion. _'You command me all the time, I'm in charge now.'_ , it said, and she loved it. Cortana drew a crooked smile and let him guide her hands behind her back, she grasped her own wrists as a sign of promise that she'd stay put. The air left her chest slowly when his hands ran down her hips and then up to her shoulders, groping her breasts on the way by.

"I'll show you _why you really picked me_ and not anyone else." he growled. "I'll give you what you want. All of it."

Roughly, the Master Chief grabbed the flaps of her white coat and pulled it down her shoulders until past her elbows, then proceeded to undo the knot that kept her pretty little dress tight around her body. He pulled away the ties and spread the cloth, revealing the skin, the curves and the black lace beneath... he turned still for a full minute, just devouring that sight with hungry eyes. An intricate spider web sewn by expert hands, measured down to the perfection of her substantial attributes. He ran the tips of his fingers over the soft fabrics, admiring how the tight, thin strings gently dug into the skin of her waist, making the curves of her hips more pronounced and rounded. More strings hugged her breasts, leaving ever so little to the imagination. John rubbed his thumb over one of the hard nipples and her sigh of pleasure made him twitch to life violently.

He'd never seen anything like that before, but he couldn't say he didn't like it. It was unusual and beautiful. Delicate. John felt a strange urge to tear it all apart with his fingers, aroused in a way he couldn't explain.

He wanted her naked and this thing was on his way.

She sensed his interest and leaned forward, arching her back to push her breasts onto his chest. Her legs tightened around his waist, bringing their bodies together. She dared to brush his lips with hers, stealing a quick kiss, placing another on his chin.

"You're welcome." Cortana chuckled, noticing how hard he became against her thigh. He was in his standard resting attire, dark gray pants and white t-shirt with his designations sewn on the sleeves and left side of the chest. So much easier to get rid of than the combat-ready exo-suit. "What did you say you were going to show me?"

Without a word, the Master Chief pulled her dress down her shoulders too and fastened the ties around her arms, along with the lab coat. Cortana gasped. She understood too late what was going on...

"Wait, what are you doing? I can't move my arms. Let me go."

That's when he grabbed her waist with both hands, tangling his thick fingers in the black strings. It took only a quick pull to break them and see the small garment fall apart between her open legs.

Horrified, Cortana shouted: "Hey! That's expensive, you can't...!"

Her protest melted down in a strangled mewl when John attacked her neck, nipping and licking and kissing the sensitive skin until she dropped her head back. She could feel his rough hands everywhere. He'd gotten quite resourceful, and it was all her fault. She'd let him become like this, she'd been the one encouraging him, provoking him. He could be simple-minded when it came to obedience and duty, but he was certainly not plain when it came to sex. Uncultured, maybe, which he made up for with curiosity and determination. He was an expert in war, his mind was dangerous enough to become a skilled lover if she kept pushing. Her desires were the limit.

Yes, Cortana knew she could get used to an enthusiastic lover like him, any time.

Another thrill shook her, this time it was his fingers reaching the wet center of her core, from behind. One big hand spread over her ass, the other one spreading her pussy's lips. She felt heated, agitated. Her hips buckled involuntarily; a soft moan, his raspy voice humming low on her ear while his mouth kept digging beneath her jaw.

She couldn't touch him, and it was killing her.

"Let me go." she moaned. "Please, John. I want to feel you, I need..."

"I'm not done with you yet." he was sharp, commanding.

She bit her lower lip, trying to endure the sparks that his fingers were rubbing off her clit and labia. Rougher, deeper, _louder_. Trembling, Cortana buried her face on his chest and began to gasp repeatedly, moaning in a mixture of pleasure and suffering, so ripe and ready that the orgasm caught her completely off guard when it came.

"Please!" she begged, her voice muffled by his t-shirt. "Oh God, please!"

Her entire body tensed up against his chest, shivering and twitching; she couldn't even manage to scream, just to close her eyes so tight that it hurt and survive wave after wave of tingling sensations roaming her flesh. He managed to make her come without even sliding a finger inside of her, there was no need for that. She couldn't say she was not impressed. Time passed as her heartbeat and breathing slowed down, she found herself propped against his chest and limp on his hands, the Master Chief's fingers caressing softly the roundness of her ass and the soft curve of her back. There was a strange sweetness to the way he was holding her.

Cortana sighed, lost in bliss. Who cared if they were in her lab, anyway?

She wasn't in her right mind when she asked:

"What do you want from me, John?" her voice came out like a ragged moan.

Again, no direct answer.

He manned her by the shoulders, sitting her straight. Cortana shivered to the feel of the warm steel table grazing her swollen and sensitive pussy. Oh Christ. She didn't even want to think of the stain, she felt all wet and uncomfortable, but so hot. They were definitely not going to stop there, were they?

She examined the steely blue of his look, recognizing a flagrant spark of smugness.

In other circumstances, it would've make her angry.

 _In this circumstance, it made her hornier_.

"So, is this all?" she mouthed, defiant, feigning to be unimpressed. "Are you done?"

"No." he narrowed his eyes, calculative. "I'm just getting started."

"Oh, so you have a plan."

"I have _time_. And you're not going anywhere."

Cortana swallowed hard. She wished he would release her arms, so she could thrust her hands inside his pants and give him a good lesson on how to treat a lady. She bet she could make him spill in less than ten seconds, judging by the hardness of his erection. Deep in the back of her mind, she pictured herself taking that seed in her mouth, fondling his cock with her tongue, rendering him vulnerable and weak. A part of her wanted to make him pay for his treacherous attack, but she wanted more to be at his mercy. And she knew he liked it more that way.

Her heart throbbed at the realization: _that was going to be a long, long night._

**x.x.x.x.x**

It had taken every ounce of sense of strategy in his body to control himself and not just lay her down on the work table and fuck her beyond sanity. He was in pain. So hard and so eager that the friction of the fabrics on the head of his cock made him wince, but he was also so angry at her that he was determined not to give her what she wanted the most until he was satisfied first. And he was curious about a lot of things.

"I have time." the Master Chief said, dead serious. "And you're not going anywhere."

Yes, she wasn't going anywhere. And he wasn't going to let go of her arms, not yet. John dipped his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, she reacted immediately devouring his lips with desperate little mewls intertwined. The scent of her arousal kept filling up his nostrils, undermining his determination a little more with every breath.

He had to focus. There were things he wanted to do first.

Things _he wanted to do to her_ , more specifically.

John was aware that in the kissing department he wasn't the best, but he liked it anyway and he'd been daydreaming of such a simple caress all along. Flashes of white sheets and the distant sound of seagulls caught him with the guard down, pouring a sloppy dose of genuine care in the way he tasted her mouth next.

He snapped out of it when realization hit him again. Not okay. Not now.

She still gave him two, three more soft kisses before pulling away.

The sweet, warm sensation of the moment was crushed when she tightened her legs around his waist again, rubbing her bare crotch onto his. The Master Chief groaned, but not entirely displeased. They were going to get there, eventually; only that she would beg for it first, nonetheless.

"I thought you were going to fuck me." Cortana moaned.

"I will." he promised. "Just not yet."

He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back, rough enough to make her yelp and laugh at the same time, and laid her back on the table. The appliance was tall enough for him to bend over comfortably, but he bet her feet wouldn't touch the ground when it was her turn. Cortana's breasts propped up, contained by the black garment and the pronounced arch of her back, he leaned forward to rest his weight on her as well, forcing her legs to spread wider. He didn't mind that black brassier, whatever it was made of. It could stay on for now. Out of spite, John grinded their hips together until they both had to grit their teeth, Cortana called him out something he didn't understand.

He found the lacey brim of her tan-colored stockings and slid two fingers underneath each. Then, he looked at her face, and waited.

Her cheeks flushed in anger.

"No." her voice was like thunder.

John smiled a little.

"John, no." she repeated. "Just take them off, don't break them. I warn you."

No abiding or hint of understanding. She frowned deeply.

But before she could open her mouth and shout again, he ripped the stockings off her legs, ditching her low-heel shoes along the way. Cortana swallowed an angry bellow by hitting the metallic surface with the back of her head, repeatedly, as she mumbled all sorts of insults. 'Bastard' and 'son of a bitch' and 'you asshole' were the less colorful. She seemed to calm down when he leaned on her again and caressed her now completely naked thighs and hips, even more so when he kissed her neck and throat.

"Do you know how hard is it to get fine quality underwear?" she growled. "I liked those stockings, it was my favorite pair."

"They were on my way." he explained.

"Of course you don't understand, the UNSC gives you everything you need."

The Master Chief growled something against her chest and used his teeth to pull down the brim of the brassier, popping out one breast and then the other. Much better. Cortana sighed deeply when he caught a nipple with his tongue and she began to moan again when he slightly humped on her crotch, slowly at first but harder and deeper every time until she cried out and called him a son of a bitch again, fighting with the coat and the dress that kept her arms tied.

Time to move on. John broke the embrace of her legs and pulled himself away, only to grab her by the hips and flip her over the table. As he suspected, her bare feet were hanging a few inches from the ground and her inviting rear was at just the right height for his cock to ravage her once and for all.

He could've fucked her silly right then and there, but...

 _But she had to beg_. Yes, she was going to beg him this time.

John could hear her labored breaths. He figured it wasn't very comfortable to lie face down suspended like that, even less so with her arms behind her back, but he was confident she would give up soon.

"Okay, you can let me go now." she whined.

"Just a little longer."

The Master Chief dropped a knee in front of her magnificent ass, both hands gently grabbing the back of her thighs, right under the fleshy cheeks. She moaned in distress when he used his thumbs to spread her apart revealing the hidden sweet spot, all glistening with her juices, twitching slightly. Down there, at the bottom of a delicate slit, there was a pink little button. _The scent_. It was the musk on her scent that compelled him to touch, to rub his thumb across that slit and massage the button.

It surprised him a little to hear her cry out and press her thighs together.

Her reaction encouraged him to keep going. He rubbed until the juices spilled more and more, the twitching intensified. The scent became stronger. Temptation overran him and without thinking much, John pressed his tongue along with his thumb; this time he was rewarded with a series of surprised moans and shivers.

"Oh my God." she sighed, her breath hitching again. "Where did you learn that?"

John wasn't listening. He used both thumbs to spread her wide and focused on exploring the wet folds with his mouth. Cortana began to struggle again, she sensed another incoming climax as well as he did. Her body couldn't stop shuddering against his tongue. So close. He knew she was close, he could feel himself throbbing in response and the desire to just ram her viciously almost blinded him.

But he had to keep his mind on the game, so he managed to restrain the urge.

He wouldn't fail, he was trained to resist the unimaginable. He could resist her.

Could he, really?

John pulled away moments before her release. A few more laps of his tongue and she could've come violently on his mouth, giving him a deeper taste of her desire. When she understood he wasn't going to finish her this time, Cortana twisted herself enough to shoot at him a murderous look.

"What got into you today?" she asked, panting.

"What do you mean?" he stood up slowly, his hands roaming her ass to rest on her hips.

"You never did that before. Your mouth. _There_. Like that"

"I wasn't really thinking about it. I just wanted to do it."

His erection was reaching unbearable heights of pain, screaming for a little of attention. Mindlessly, John grinded his hips hard against her exposed core, his clothes the only thing separating them from a full and more pleasurable contact. He didn't even mind the stain she left on the front of his pants. His left hand drifted across the same cheek and as he pushed and she moaned in desperation, his thumb found that other little entrance, the one they had never used before.

Cortana's face was all flushed, a lovely feverish pink. She was breathing hard through her mouth, but managed to smile.

"You want that too, don't you?" her voice became husky, seductive. "My my, aren't we bold today?"

John looked down at his pants wet with her juices and his cock hungry to dive, but he focused on his thumb circling that slightly darker area, her anus. She moaned between her teeth when he pressed in a little.

"That's not where your womb is." he stated, serious.

"It's not. But it feels good too."

The Master Chief frowned, confused.

"You can put it in there too?" his question was so innocent that she snorted.

But he didn't feel offended by her laughter, if anything it only made him more curious. He just humped harder, commanding her to answer. Cortana gasped deeply and crisped her fingers.

"Yes, you can put it in there too, sometimes." she sighed. "You will enjoy it more than I ever would, that's for sure. I don't particularly prefer it, but sometimes... sometimes I can get crazy enough _to want it_."

"Great." he growled, suddenly miffed.

"What? You are not grossed out, are you? Hard to believe."

He didn't speak again, his mind clouded by another vision of her 'getting crazy enough to want it' from Spartan Locke. He couldn't bring himself to ask if he had taken her that way too -or any other man, for that matter-, but he knew he would have to claim that part of her body if he wanted peace of mind. The Master Chief ignored the plea when Cortana asked him what was wrong. Instead, he grabbed a good hold of the mess of clothes restraining her arms and undid the front of his pants.

She hummed in delight when the length and heat of his cock came to rest on the crevice between her ass cheeks, so close to where she wanted it the most. Then he grinded his hips slowly again, sliding, rubbing, making her want it more than ever. Cortana pressed her forehead on the cold metal of the table and squirmed, wiggling her hips.

She whimpered again, powerless.

"I'm not grossed out." he said, after a while. "It just doesn't belong there."

"No, it doesn't." she sighed, oblivious.

John guided the tip of his throbbing member against the slippery slit he had tasted so good before, enjoying the satin touch of her skin. _Not yet_.

"It belongs here." he breathed. "This is where you want it."

"Yes, right there." Cortana's words were mindless. "Right there."

Not yet. Just a little more.

He slid his cock down to rub her clit, providing an electrifying stimulation for both of them. She shivered and closed her thighs together, the gap between them drenched with her own dripping fluids. John almost lost it, so tight and warm, slick. Not nearly as good as being inside of her, but if he wasn't careful he could be shooting it all into the nothingness beneath the table. His cock wouldn't feel the difference, but he'd be heavily disappointed with himself.

"Hmm, what are you doing?" she complained, frowning. "That's not where I want it."

The Master Chief leaned all the way over her, to whisper on her ear:

"And where do you want it, again?"

"Inside of me." Cortana moaned, her body was trembling. "I want to feel you inside."

He was amazed of how small, how helpless she looked. He kissed her jaw and suckled on her earlobe, never stopped sliding back and forth between her legs. It was a torture for him as well, but he couldn't just give up.

She responded with a long whine, pressing her thighs together even more.

"Please." she whispered.

John growled. He felt his cock twitch, that soft voice did strange things to him.

"Please, John." she groaned. "Fuck me already."

She tried to struggle and this time he grabbed her hips with both hands, keeping her still.

"Oh, God, please! I can't take it anymore!"

He ceased his assault, just to remain still and watch her whimper and quiver.

She squirmed to turn her head and the upper half of her body, enough to look at him and kiss the corner his mouth, his chin, his jaw. Her fingers managed to grab a fistful of his t-shirt and pull her ass up even more, now she was trying to grind against him.

"I want you inside." she begged, her voice a wishful plea. "I want your baby, remember? Please, John. I need you. I know you want to, I love the look on your face when you cum and fill my womb with your seed."

He blew out all the air caught inside his lungs, like an animal.

She used her tongue to trace his now trembling jaw.

"You promised, John." she moaned. "You promised to breed me a child."

Cortana bit his neck, softly, lovingly.

He closed his eyes, ready to give in. Then she spoke again:

"You also promised to fuck me like you never did before. I want both. I want your cock and I want your child. Isn't this a win-win situation, huh? Any man would be immensely happy. You can have it all."

Enough. Oh, fuck, enough already.

Honestly, he was amazed of how long he'd gone before giving in.

_But then, she said the magic words..._

"I'm begging you, John. Don't leave me like this, please. I need you so bad..."

Cortana's voice broke and failed. She was at her limit as well as he. Despite the forced angle and the uncomfortable position, he managed to capture her mouth and she wasn't slow to answer the kiss with a happy groan. He pushed a hand between her thighs, front wise, and placed his cock where they both wanted it the most; he slid inside so easily, and she was so warm and tight, that he had to fight with all his will not to explode right there and then. She deserved her release as well, she'd been teased enough.

She cried out in ecstasy, a beautiful smile took over her lips.

"Yes!" she mewled. "Yes, yes, yes! Hmm!"

John straightened up and grabbed her hips, keeping her legs closed, and rammed her fast and hard, just the way he knew she liked it. Knowing he wouldn't last much, he reached around and gave her clit a little bit of help, he wanted her to enjoy it as much as he knew he would. Her pussy tightened almost immediately, but she didn't cum, not yet.

Cortana cried out and clenched her teeth, her breath was out of control.

"Yes, yes, that's it!" she panted. "Harder! Give it all to me!"

Oh, he was going to give it to her, alright. Her voice was almost as powerful as her tight inner muscles, she was already twitching and getting ready to milk him dry.

Her cries became downright shouts of pleasure.

And he couldn't care any less if they attracted unwanted attention.

Maybe he would like to see the look on Spartan Locke's face, if he happened to find them mating like this, like two animals. So he would know for sure that Cortana had found a better mate, a worthy one, to give her the child she wanted so bad. That he, Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117, had come to be worthy of her. John felt as if the ground had shifted beneath his feet. His brain went blank. All he could think of was to fill her up with his seed and breed her like a mare in heat.

And she seemed to be of a similar mind-setting...

"JOHN, PLEASE!" she screamed, helpless. "I'M COMING!"

**x.x.x.x.x**

The intensity of the orgasm shook her so deeply that she lost both her voice and the ability to breathe for a moment. Oh so glorious. So good. So hot. She wasn't sure if it was her body shivering or the steel table melting, but the room was moving. Turns out it was her eyes rolling to the back of her skull, she nearly passed out for a second. It took her a while to recover and make sense of what was going on, but when she managed to escape that blissful warmth and the goosebumps on her skin smoothed off, she cleared her sore throat and spoke:

"That was... God, I think I never came this hard before. With anyone. Ever."

"Good." he growled, somewhere behind her.

Cortana turned her head to look at him, her face gleaming with perspiration.

"I'm serious." she mumbled next, a little embarrassed. "This is not normal."

"You do strange things to me too."

John's response made her cheeks flush, adding more heat to her already boiling blood. If it wasn't enough with how much she desired him, now they were adding a supernatural quality to the situation and it made it all weirder and the more exciting. She swallowed hard and tried to smile.

"Yes, I recall you said that."

His t-shirt was soaked in sweat, a fact that made Cortana slightly proud.

But when she found his darkened eyes again, well...

"We're not done." John whispered, almost a growl.

Cortana smiled lustfully, licking her lips.

Oh, of course. He had just provided her with an abundant payload but the good soldier was ready for another deployment. Too bad she might or might not have other plans now. Cortana pressed her tired thighs together and squeezed him from the inside, watching with satisfaction how the left corner of his mouth twitched.

"Figured as much, you're never done with just once. Are you going to untie me now?"

John let out a deep breath and nodded.

She smiled wider and let her head drop on the table, resting her sticky cheek against the cold metal. The pressure on her arms loosened. As soon as she recovered full mobility and control over her body, he stepped back and gently slid out. Her flesh was already missing the warmth and toughness of his, all instincts roared inside her gut ordering her to get closer to her mate again, to refuge herself on his strength and heat. To let him protect her, care for her, seed her again. It was so wrong to need him that way, in such a private, intimate way, but she couldn't stop it.

It was a real feeling, and one she knew she wouldn't be able to erase.

The mere thought made her stomach clench. Loving him was wrong.

_'Who said anything about love? We're just fucking like rabbits.'_

_'Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.'_ the voice replied, a snarky comeback.

_'For fucks sake. Like there's any future for us, we've been over this before. The testing stage ends in two more months, then he's leaving.'_

_'And what are you going to do when he's gone? Hmm?'_

She didn't want to think about that. She'd be happily pregnant and working on the next stage of the MJOLNIR project by then, or so she hoped. Cortana pressed her lips together and twisted her body around to sit down on the table, crossing her bare legs in an act of residual shame. She eyed him, John was propped against her desk, grabbing the edges of the table with both hands.

The hem of his t-shirt formed a little tent held by his still throbbing member.

She discarded the rest of her almost useless clothes and sat there naked, looking at him. Silence and the smell of recent sex mixed with sweat engulfed them. He didn't interrupt her thoughts in any way, just absorbed every inch of her flushed beauty until she finished organizing her troubled feelings.

Yes, feelings. Why denying it? She was in love.

It wasn't the same as real, deep, breathtaking and heartbreaking love, but it was a feeling and it had a certain weight. She was in love with the idea of a man she knew out of dossiers and research, not because she had spent any real quality time with him. Her mother was obsessed with him, why wouldn't she as well? Cortana had chosen him, and John had given her everything she expected, and that was terrific. She didn't love him, she was infatuated by the strong instincts he elicited on her.

Cortana sighed, relieved.

This was a valid, _rational_ answer. It was much easier when things made sense.

 _'Fine. It's as far as you're going to get, anyway.'_ said the other voice, frustrated.

The expression on her face changed when Elizabeth and her stupid feelings and guilt faded into Cortana's sensual presence. Even John noticed the shift, because his shoulders stiffened visibly when she hopped off the table and walked towards him, swaying her hips in a seductive cadence.

Her fingers quickly found the hem of his t-shirt and lifted it, but she didn't grab his cock right away. Her palm went to rest flat upon his abdomen, feeling the heat and the slippery skin, the hard muscle beneath. He stood up, stepping away from the desk. Cortana gave him a signal and John quickly raised the garment above his head, taking it off. The wet cloth slipped off his fingers slowly as her hands roamed up his belly and chest, her intensely blue eyes never leaving his hypnotized stare.

The instinctive connection established between their minds was stronger than ever.

"Not feeling bossy now?" she whispered, her lips hovering close to his chest.

He was already leaning down towards her face. "Give it time."

She chuckled again, her heart warm and happy.

The kiss that followed was different. None of them could say why, but something on it wasn't the same as before. He was holding her lovingly against his body, well protected in his unbreakable embrace. She was merrily lost in his presence again, ignoring the raging hard on pressed a bit above her belly and the warm stream of semen sliding down her thigh. She could only think of merging into one with him.

"Lie down." Cortana said, between kisses; her fingers were now clasped tight on the waistband of his pants. "Right here on the floor, on your back. It's my turn."

John's grip on her tightened, and he attacked her neck again.

Cortana couldn't contain a soft mewl. "John, come on. Let me do this."

He didn't protest this time, just got rid of the few clothes he had on left and proceeded to execute her request. She wasn't slow to lie down with him, on top, and deliver herself to another long and exciting round of kisses, nips and nibbles, with a side of greedy, rough hands groping and caressing almost the entire length of her body. Before he could lose all control again, Cortana sat on his groin and grinded her hips a little, rubbing their bodies together until she couldn't take it anymore.

Despite the stings of pain she felt on her legs, Cortana rose over him and guided his throbbing manhood straight into her, taking him slowly this time. What a view. A mass of bulging and tight muscles trembling between her thighs, the heart of an ox beating hard right under her palms. She wanted to watch him through, it was not a lie that she enjoyed seeing his face whenever he reached his own peak of pleasure. There was something utterly fascinating and vulnerable about that exact moment, she liked to think of it as the only moment in time in which she owned him completely. Before some other mean feeling could take her over again, Cortana began to move her hips and closed her eyes.

"Just relax." she whispered. "Relax and let me take you with me."

A tense groan was all she could get from him.

It didn't take much for John to grab her waist and guide her, or for her to start feeling the build-up deep inside. She threw her head back and moaned softly, panting, her own hands caressing her body, her breasts, her stiff nipples; rubbing and fondling and slightly pinching the flesh. Her skin covered in goosebumps again. Her hands then crawled down and her nails raked his abdomen, their hips moving now in unison.

"You're going to give me a beautiful child, I'm sure." she moaned.

She didn't see it, but he opened his eyes and stared at her.

Cortana grabbed her breasts again, holding them tight as she twisted her hips like a madwoman, the pace of her attack escalating along the frequency of her breath. All John could see was this majestic goddess riding him, streams of sweat dripping down her still flat belly and between her breasts.

Her moans became hoarse and deep, a sound that triggered the animal in him once more.

It wasn't enough that she felt like a warm velvet glove around him, she felt like the best damn thing ever even in his ears. She smelled like Paradise. How could a man not succumb to this? There was no way to resist. John wanted her all for himself, she had to be the one to bear all of his children. It didn't matter if he was marked for an early death, it didn't even matter if he was to drop dead tomorrow...

 _She carried life_. She carried his legacy, the only thing that deserved to survive.

The UNSC could own him, alright; but they would never own this child.

It cost him great effort to let go of her waist only to place a hand on her stomach, though she didn't notice. She was high on dopamine again. He understood what was so different now, there was no way of telling other than what his instinct was whispering through his augmented senses...

But he was sure. _She was pregnant_.

Maybe that was why he felt so possessive over her? Because she was with child?

No ordinary child: it was his. A pride like no other invaded the Master Chief's mind, he almost craved the need to smile and laugh. Or the next best thing he could manage. It was such a confusing state of mind, pleasure from the waist down and joy from the waist up. Maybe he should say something. She would like to know, right?

Cortana shrieked, yanking him back to reality. He pushed himself up with his elbows, sitting on the floor, balancing the bouncing woman on his lap. Her fingernails came to dig hard on his naked, slippery shoulders, her breasts sliding up and down against his chest. He embraced her closer and pushed her hips deeper by placing a hand on the small of her back, leading her again.

She was tightening fast. Almost there.

Cortana hid her face on his neck and bit him as she came, twitching all over his cock.

John resisted the pain -although there was something good about that, something primal that he found appealing- and thrust into her a few more times before the final pump that filled her once more. It was irrelevant at this point, but knowing that a part of him already linked them together made him feel numb.

He kept their bodies close and tight as she went limp on top of him, at last. _Exhausted_ would be a much appropriate word. John dropped back to the floor and ran his rough hands up and down her back, slowly, soothing Cortana's labored breath.

"My God, John. You're going to be the death of me." she mumbled, groggily.

He chuckled lightly and placed a lazy kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry I bit you."

"No problem. Just don't make a habit of it."

This time she chuckled and kissed the bitten spot on his neck.

John's eyes wandered through the ceiling as he caressed her unceasingly, suddenly too aware of the warmth and softness of her stomach against his. Too aware of that ethereal presence between them. It was a nice feeling, empowering somehow. Maybe if he focused enough he could hear the microscopic heart, already beating inside of her?

He should say something.

She would think his chemicals were off balance, for sure. What proof did he have?

"You owe me a new pair of stockings and lace panties." Cortana said, playfully.

"Put it on my tab."

"You bet I will. I liked those panties."

"I liked them too."

"And yet you destroyed them mercilessly. I mean, that was extremely sexy, but still..."

He just hummed, lost in his own thoughts.

Cortana managed to lift up the upper half of her body -groaning softly on the sensations that kept pulsating from the lower half- and crossed her arms over his chest, propping her chin on top of her own crossed arms. John felt at liberty to join his hands behind his head to get a better look at her, her beautiful eyes were full of...

She wasn't panicking over the cameras or people walking into them, that was good.

His final choice was not to say anything, just enjoy the moment.

And for a few minutes, he did.

"What?" she asked, after a long silence of staring at each other.

John made a grimace that meant 'nothing', but it didn't convince her.

"John..."

"I should get going." was the only thing he could articulate.

Those words disappointed her, it was clearly visible on the light that faded off her face after he said so, on the cold that grazed her skin. She nodded and cleared her throat again, then rolled to the side, severing for good the deep connection between their bodies. She cleaned herself and the stains on the floor and the steel table, then picked up all of her discarded and thorn pieces of underwear. They dressed again not facing each other until it was time to leave.

They said goodbye for the time being with another kiss.

It was a good kiss, one of those kisses Elizabeth Halsey would regret dearly.

Cortana just enjoyed it and smiled despite all facts.

Each one went separate ways after that, quietly. The Master Chief had some good sleep to catch, and Cortana had the urgent need to tinker with certain surveillance files before dawn, to prevent a major disaster. Her work in the lab wasn't finished either, so she'd be coming back to that sexy 'crime scene' right after. Both of them were satisfied, for sure, yet John found himself having thoughts he should not have.

Like contemplating the possibility of a little house by some random beach and the sound of seagulls out of the window, for one.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_Okay, okay... buff, this was too much. I'm literally exhausted x.x I'm going to need a lot of drama to recover, and the good news is... drama is coming! *evil smirk* you know me, I can't have nice things because I want them bloody and wrecked eventually; and, my friends, you've just been invited to the final arc of this little smutty story. Sad news is things will be less smutty from now on, but there's actually a plot at play here and the underline is, this needs more spice -in case we didn't have enough already-. Stay tuned and make a note somewhere to buy Kleenex... never mind, you probably have a box or two of those lying around *evil chuckle* just keep it at hand. I mean closer than usual. You're going to need it. Oh forget it, I don't even know why I'm saying this :P this story already gathers enough pervs LOL. Anyway, stick around and let me know what's on your mind, I want everything about your impressions and theories, folks! It's always nice to read you :)_

_Stay safe and enjoy life!_


	9. PART IX

_Hey guys, I’m back! I know, I know. I’ve been gone for a while. I’ve been on vacation (woha, not for that long… it was just a short while; I visited the USA, ‘twas a great trip and met great friends, had a wonderful time :3) but now the show must go on and here it comes, the DRAMA. The reminder remains valid: if you’re not at least 18, GTFO of this fanfic. There are thousands of other good stories you can pick from which aren’t harmful for your mind. I warned y’all. Now let’s get dirty with the shit-show to come… *evil laughter*_

**TAKE ME WHEN YOU NEED ME**

**PART IX**

 

The day of _the incident_ started sweaty, risky.

As it was preferred by her, at this point. Cortana had finally achieved an _‘I-don’t-give-a-single-fuck-anymore’_ state of mind that she knew sooner or later would irritate her father. She didn’t care anymore, about Dr. Ford or about anyone else’s inquiries. Questions about her whereabouts, why she was arriving late to work, why she couldn’t be seen any more in the large mess halls at breakfast, lunch or dinner time, why of all people she was having sex with a Spartan, etcetera. It wasn’t important. People noticed things, of course. But she was the highest ranked civilian on that God forsaken floating piece of dead rock, she was the Director of SHIELD Base; no-one could call her out on her behavior without filing a formal complaint with the UNSC first.

Which she had to approve before the UNSC could get to see said complaint, anyway.

The Master Chief had lost the will to care about the secrecy of what they were doing far before Cortana did. He was too busy enjoying her, getting attached to her in ways he wasn’t capable of understanding. Now more than ever. Losing track of mission directives never felt this good, one-hundred-percent positive on that.

And boy, they were having the time of their lives.

“I need to get up now, I have a lecture.” Cortana mumbled, weakly. “The kids have been waiting for this for weeks.”

“I’m not stopping you.”

But, in a way, he was. He knew pretty damn well that as long as his hands were roaming her naked skin, she wasn’t going to leave. He knew that she could be tired and satisfied, but she would always be signing up for another wild ride.

“John, please.” She moaned again, impassive as he slid a knee between her legs, as she felt the hot length of his manhood rubbing the sore but swollen lips of her sweet spot. Her breath halted when his lips rested on her neck, his bold hand wandering way lower past her bellybutton. “Hmmm, yes. I like that.”

Very soon she found herself breathing hard, with her back arched in a provocative curve, her ass propped against his hips as he pumped into her relentlessly. Lying side to side, his massive body holding her from behind, John closed his eyes and pressed his mouth harder against her skin. Her head was resting on his bulging biceps, twisted in an angle that wasn’t very comfortable but allowed him to bend his arm back and bury his fingers in her sweaty hair; her neck totally exposed for him to devour. John kept one of her shaking legs up in the air, holding it with his bent knee as he drove himself into her wet depths time and time again. She was busy groping and pinching her breasts -and occasionally scratching his ribs in a fit of pleasure, accompanied by a little yelp-, he preferred to keep his free hand pressed hard on her belly. Maybe it was to seize her hips on the right position, maybe there was nothing strictly sexual to it.

He was too busy to make up his mind about it, anyway.

The Master Chief was thinking about this fact when she stiffened between his arms and her pussy clenched around him with a vicious, satisfying grip; her breath was now ragged but joyful. Cortana’s hands were both grabbing the fingers he kept sprayed over her belly, all of her body trembling with intense satisfaction. It was time to give her what she wanted. She didn’t have to say a word: John fucked her harder then, turning her moans into muffled screams as she tried to hide her face on the pillow, and after a moment he finally buried himself into her as far as he could go and delivered the last of his seed, as it was her wish. He wouldn’t have dared to do any different, even though it was pointless by now.

Cortana was a broken rag doll lying naked, sweaty, sticky and limp between his arms. It took a while until she could move or utter a proper word. John waited patiently for her to come down from her cloud of bliss while caressing her lower belly with an absent-minded gesture. He snapped out of his wandering thoughts when she touched his cheek and jaw, scratching the raspy stubble he soon would take care of.

“You can’t get away with it every time, you know?” she sighed.

“So far evidence states that I can.”

She laughed softly.

He was chatty and in a great mood. She liked that, she loved that little devilish smile and his small, smug comments, a true achievement for a man she knew wasn’t much of a talker by nature.

Cortana stirred between his arms, she didn’t stop him when the Master Chief cupped both of her breasts in his huge, scarred hands, and kissed her neck one last time. The feeling of his manhood sliding out made her moan again, against her will. God, why did she have to go to work? Couldn’t she just stay in bed with him all day? She didn’t think neither of them could keep fucking any more for the moment, but she just wanted to be with him like that, close and warm and safe. God fucking dammit.

“Okay, I really have to go, I don’t want to disappoint the children. And you should be somewhere else too, somewhere that is nowhere near the civilian quarters. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She had to get up. Maybe if she just crawled out of the bed, sliding away from him…

She chose to roll over and face him, to find those steely blue eyes and kiss him.

“I like it when you call me ma’am.” She giggled, against his lips. His thick arms closed around her waist like a bear trap, pressing her swelling breasts on his chest. It felt so good. Cortana kissed him deeply this time and he tried his best to follow up. Still, not the best she ever had in that department, but satisfying enough. “You can use the shower after I’m done, if you want.”

“Okay.”

“Alright.”

Cortana stared into his eyes for a moment longer. He held her look, serious.

The words made it out of her mouth before she could stop them: “Be safe. I’ll contact you whenever I can.”

John didn’t answer this time. Cortana swallowed hard and cursed herself in her mind. Why would she say something like that? So awkward. Her stomach shrunk, she felt dizzy suddenly. To break that moment of discomfort, she ended up giving him one last and quick kiss, then pulled away from him, from the bed and from the dangerous entanglement of feelings that was beginning to tear her apart.

She made it to the small bathroom, only to slide shut the door behind her and sit down on the toilet to ease her mind.

The room seemed to be swinging from side to side, like a grandfather clock’s pendulum. Holy shit. Her stomach was complaining more than ever. She felt an acid taste on the back of her throat, but she did not throw up. Grabbing the sink’s edge as she heard John move through the room, Cortana stood up and washed her face with cold water, closing her eyes until the nausea disappeared.

Doubt invaded her. She’d been so recklessly abandoned to the heat of the moment that she didn’t think again of the scheduled tests she should’ve performed to follow the progress of her experiment. She felt her breasts heavier and her nipples more sensitive, now that she thought of it. Then she realized to full consciousness that she’d been taking snacks between scheduled meals too, quite an improper behavior of her. Her heart leaped and raced.

_Could it be? Was she pregnant, at last?_

A shot of joy warmed up her insides as a slow smile crept up her lips.

“Finally.” Cortana murmured, and she grabbed an empty sterile container from under the sink. It would have to wait, she was already running late. She collected some urine in the container and sealed the lid back in place. Her excited blue gaze observed the yellow liquid, hope filling her chest like summer’s warmth.

 _‘Tonight.’_ She thought, and sighed. _‘Tonight, I’ll know for sure.’_

 

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

SHIELD Base’s main R&D laboratory was primarily manned by six scientists and four assistants that were already busy with their duties when Cortana appeared, twelve minutes late to work. Nobody mentioned the fact, yet nine people greeted her after she announced herself, dropped a tray with cups of coffee for everyone on the nearest table, and hurried back out. The children and two teachers were already waiting for her at the tram station.

One of the assistants -one Beverly Hudson- didn’t greet because she wasn’t paying any attention at all. Her audio implants were turned on and going through the final minutes of Tchaikovsky’s _1812 Overture_ loud enough to isolate her from the surroundings, something she used to do too often to everyone’s displeasure. She never heard Cortana. Therefore, she never saw her partner, a funny blonde guy named Colin whom asked her out a couple of times, coming closer to give her coffee.

He was fond of doing that too often as well, showing up unannounced…

She was carefully manipulating a glass tube as thick as a person’s arm, which contained a fragment of the foreign object the Spartans had brought from the surface. She had isolated such fragment to determine the nature of the biological residue attached to it, a peculiar formation that resembled a bunch of purple barnacles. This residue had been found hidden deep inside a crevice of the object, and it was considered non-hazardous after a preliminary scan. The lab assistant was moving the tube from the sampling table to a secured storage rack when her smiling partner appeared out of nowhere and shoved a cup of coffee in front of her face, taking her completely by surprise.

“Here, this one’s yours.” His smile was as bright as sunshine.

She screamed and took a step back.

The container slipped off her fingers and crashed between her feet just as the overture ended inside her ears with a fanfare of cannon fire.

_The broken glass sprayed across the floor in all directions._

Beverly cried out in horror, Colin gasped along with her and instinctively dropped the cup of coffee. The liquid fell all over the sample which, miraculously, hadn’t been damaged despite the violent impact so far. Now the foreign element was drenched in hot coffee laced with just the perfect dose of sugar.

Plus, two of the little ‘barnacles’ had begun to ooze something out…

“Colin, you fucking idiot!” the girl screamed, furious.

“Oh, Bev… I’m so sorry!” was all he could say, overwhelmed.

He didn’t dare to blame it on her, Cortana had called her out for wearing her implants on at work far too many times for it to be funny anymore. However, the girl was swift enough to rip off from the nearest wall an emergency containment kit and to place it on the floor above the now contaminated sample. She pressed a button with her thumb and the device’s suction cup created a void around the foreign element, sealing it inside.

“What’s all that noise?” one of the scientists came around from the other side of the lab, followed by another two.

“A container broke.” Beverly explained, as calmly as she could, looking at Colin with a streak of fury in her eyes. She felt so ashamed. “It’s okay, I got it. No harm done.”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“No, sir. We’re okay.” Colin said, confused.

“Was there any hazardous spilling?” asked petite and blonde-haired scientist. She was Colin’s mother, the reason why someone as clumsy as him, with merely a microbiology degree, was working in that team. “What was in that tube?”

“Just an inert sample, I successfully contained it on time. Everything is fine, I’ll clean it up right away.” Claimed Beverly.

“… okay, guys. Just be more careful next time.” Said the first scientist, sighing.

“Yes, sir.” Both Colin and Beverly replied in unison.

When the scientists left, he grabbed a cleaning kit and kneeled beside the girl, silently helping her pick up the sharp pieces of glass sprinkled around them. Both were wearing gloves, but their faces were not covered, they weren’t using biohazard suits of any kind except for their coats and rubber shoes. There was no need for them. The object had been cleared already.

They didn’t notice the spores from the alien barnacle-like protuberances, or that these microscopic organisms had already scattered through the air of the lab, and were entering through their nostrils with every breath.

The threat was untraceable to the biohazard alarms at this stage.

They barely exchanged looks while cleaning up the mess. Worried and angry looks.

It would take about forty minutes for the disaster to happen, and about another two and a half hours for all Hell to break loose. But that’s how it all began: with a fanfare of cannon fire and spilling of hot liquid.

_The same way it was destined to end._

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

John was a very patient man, or at least he always thought he was. He wasn’t patient as a personal trait, but as a professional soldier he was well inclined to stay put until the odds were on his favor or until he was ordered to move in.

The thing is, he had discovered that his patience ran _very thin_ whenever Spartan Locke was around. Every muscle under the Chief’s skin was on alert and ready to throw a punch since he came back from his daily two hours of training. When he saw the other Spartan charmingly smiling at everyone and rejoicing them with his non-classified ONI anecdotes, the most primitive side of his male instinct was set on fire.

Maybe it was because Locke was right next to him? Who knew.

He couldn’t even have breakfast in peace. Why did Fred have this guy sit with them?

Although Kelly had called John out for not being around Blue Team anymore, she and Linda were lost in their own conversation about their next leave and how many days the first had lost to the second in some bet. Fred was engaged in a conversation with Locke, regular chit-chat that the Master Chief was very fond of avoiding if he could. Nobody was actually minding him, which was definitely a plus.

In any case, all John had to do to feel much better instantly was to take a deep breath and think about Cortana. _And their baby growing inside of her_. A microscopic smile tugged off the corners of his lips as he took a sip from his coffee cup. Another deep breath. The sound of Cortana’s sexy laughter on his ears. He took a few more bites of his breakfast, enjoying it although it wasn’t tasty at all. He thought about the softness of her skin, the small frame of her body, the sparkling blue look on her eyes. Her lips. Her smile. The way she held him sometimes. Done, he had found his Zen place again, like Linda would say.

He had fucking won. She was his, absolutely his. So deeply and so fully that she carried his child. There was no greater triumph for John than to know that even if Spartan Locke had her before he could, now Cortana belonged to him in body and soul. If it wasn’t a secret that could endanger his career, he would proudly say it out loud and with the greatest confidence.

But she wasn’t going to be around most of the day, John knew it.

 _It distressed him when they were apart_.

He tried to trick himself into not worrying much by thinking about work, his assignment for the day would be to oversee the unloading of supplies from the ships that were currently docking at the spaceport. He had been designated commander of a crew and given several activities to follow up, which he went through in his mind. The Master Chief finished his morning meal quietly and stepped away from the table, picking up his trash.

Locke gave him a look and a smile when John passed by. John just nodded.

He discarded the empty breakfast tray into the garbage disposal airlock and proceeded to get his armor assembled. His mind was still wandering through that little Zen place, where his mate and their child to be born existed in sacred harmony. He soon forgot completely about Spartan Locke.

To say that he was distracted would’ve been a _massive understatement_.

The Master Chief was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear the panicked shrieks coming from the hallway, or acknowledged the desperate crowd that broke into the mess hall screaming and crying and shooting. Not at first. Not until it was too late he and found himself merely a few feet away from a stinking, bloated, purple-ish being with way too many arms -or tentacles- and a voice so ragged that it wasn’t human anymore.

The creature’s high-pitched screech made it through the veil of his consciousness and yanked him from his idyllic place. Fear ran down his spine, paralyzing him.

It didn’t take John any longer to acknowledge that the monstrosity charging towards him was once a person, a fellow military man or woman, deformed and absorbed by the entity known as the Flood. How? When? It didn’t matter, the answers wouldn’t come. The mess hall behind him was revolutionized by orders yelled with demanding voices, civilians and non-civilians crying for their lives and more of these alien combat forms coming in from every other corridor.

The monster lunged forward, throwing its tentacles at the Master Chief.

Fast as lightning, John unsheathed his combat knife and cut off the tentacles, then kicked the creature on its chest so hard that it flew fifty feet until it crashed against a glass panel, breaking it. Panic spread wider, there was more screaming and more crying. More people and monsters kept coming in. The breakout of the infection must’ve been somewhere in the scientific quarters or laboratories.

An aimless bullet grazed his cheek and John ducked before more automatic fire could get him. He rolled on the floor, across a trail of sticky blood and a yellow fluid like pus.

Two combat forms and more than a dozen infection forms -squid-like beings- ran by him and jumped over a small group of Marines and civilians, attacking them, tearing them to pieces, assimilating them into their world. That’s when the alarms went off and the light inside the mess hall changed from natural to amber, the hidden defense turrets came online to add another layer of shooting to the already noisy stage.

Now it was all screams, gurgling growls, shots and blaring sirens. John’s heart raced like never before, pumping adrenaline to every corner of his body.

It took him more than usual to get back on his feet and find order and concordance with what he was supposed to do next. The shrieks and screeches brought back many horrible memories, of friends and battles lost to the parasite, of worlds devoured and enslaved into the omnipresent biomass. He didn’t like losing, but fighting and losing to this relentless entity were two of the worst experiences he could recall. It wasn’t a mistake or a sin to say that the Master Chief, perhaps the most renowned Spartan ever, was terrified of the Flood. He knew that there were very few ways to put an end to such calamity, and most of them involved nuclear devices and the obliteration of entire planets.

 _‘Cortana.’_ He thought, although he was trying to avoid it. _‘I have to find her.’_

His fear multiplied exponentially. He knew she was several levels under him, deep down into the bowels of the base. Not alone, true, but vulnerable. Perhaps she was safe, still too far from the infection, with every chance to find a place to hide and wait for him.

Somebody grabbed his shoulder from behind.

John reacted again so fast that the blade of his large knife would’ve ended up buried in Spartan Locke’s neck if he hadn’t been just as fast, and blocked the arm.

“Master Chief!” Locke barked, breathing raggedly.

Fred, Linda, Kelly and a few other Spartans were forming a small circle around them, presenting their backs to the center while holding their combat knifes to protect themselves. They were an effective barrier, repelling every combat and infection form that attempted to devour them. Seeing his brothers and sisters in arms so confident made John feel in control of his body again, quickly washing away the paralyzing fear.

“We must retreat, there’s too many!” said Fred, his voice like thunder. “We need to get our armors and weapons!”

And he was right. Ironically, the Flood had already flooded the mess hall, smeared floors and walls with human blood and all kinds of secretions of their own, killed and assimilated almost all the people that came in running away only minutes before. The Spartans, some Marines and a bunch of terrified civilians and scientists were the only ones left alive, but all of them were severely underequipped, defenseless; at such rate, their chances of survival were zero. Their best shot was to leave and come up with a good plan.

Who would’ve thought something like this was going to happen?

And so violent, so ferocious. John wasn’t sure if he had ever seen the Flood act viciously like that, almost mindlessly. Like a swarm of piranhas, razing over whatever living creature was on their path. There was nothing calculated or strategic about the way the infection was spreading, so far, no pattern to be discovered.

Which was odd, because behind every Flood outbreak there was always a Gravemind in control of it.

“Chief,” insisted Locke, taking after Fred. “Are you coming with us?”

One thing John was certain of, it was time to fight his way out of that mess and reach the Spartan deck. He needed to get his armor and his weapons. Then he had to figure out how to locate Cortana and make sure she and their baby were okay, then he had to focus on saving them all.

Yes, that sounded like a plan, alright.

“Lead the way.” Said the Master Chief, turning away from the ongoing massacre. “We have to contact the supply ships and have them take off immediately. This infection can’t reach the ships.”

“Damn true.” Agreed Kelly. “Linda and I will take care of that. Let’s go!”

Just when the group was about to flee the scene, all the lights went out.

**x.x.x.x.x**

 

One quarter of SHIELD Base’s stationary crew were non-scientific personnel, mostly husbands, wives and children of the scientists and the military that lived permanently on the base. The non-scientific personnel had their own responsibilities, such as working to keep the base self-sustainable. Just as there were several levels of living quarters and rec areas, there was an entire level of the facility dedicated to the education of said children, from day care to elementary and high school, even college via direct Waypoint classrooms. As a part of an immersion program developed by Cortana to bring the younglings closer to science and open career choices for them, she organized lectures and laboratory tours every now and then. This time, she was leading a group of twenty-six eleven-year-olds through the labyrinthic farming facilities, set one level above the main reactor and military storage bays. The class was all about sowing, growing, harvest and recycling schedules and related automated systems that put food on everyone’s tables.

The kids, more girls than boys, were excited at first but their interest decreased to the point of being obviously bored by the time they made it through to the other end of the corn patches. Nobody complained, they liked Miss Halsey and they were okay with skipping the classroom for a day. Visiting a side of their home base that was reserved for authorized personnel only was an adventure on itself.

Yet, after five hours of walking across grass, soy beans, corn, wheat, various fruit trees, humidity, heat they weren’t used to, grain storages, water pumping and recycling stations and a brief lunch at the main farming docks, she figured they were tired.

Cortana advised the kids to dress comfortably for the tour, and so did she. Black tank-top, standard-issue dark gray cargo pants and boots and her lab coat on top were her choice. Just as the kids, she carried a standard-issue black backpack with supplies and her data pad secured within the inner folds of her lab coat.

After several sets of stairs and catwalks that led towards an atrium well above recently plowed field, Cortana took out her data pad and accessed the farming AI. Last stop of the day, she could see the distant single rail of the tram line from where she was standing.

“Alright, kids.” She said, addressing the small crowd. Cortana rubbed the sweat off her face with an arm, and smiled. “I’ll show you some pretty badass machines that help us live here just like in any other planet within the Colonies.”

Suddenly interested, the kids came closer to the handrails as a large machine underneath them stirred to life. Huge lamps attached around the main cabin illuminated the entirety of the field, like an array of insect eyes. It was a regular Mammoth until several robotic arms unfolded from its main body and spread across the field, about three hundred feet wide from side to side. It had a water tank on top and many smaller compartments labeled with different colors and warning signs. By the time the machine was ready to go, one of the kids shot a finger towards it and shouted that it looked like a big green spider.

The two teachers smiled back at Cortana, one of them gave her a thumbs-up.

Cortana agreed with a chuckle. The vehicle kind of looked like a spider, yes.

“This modified Mammoth is called a farming station.” She explained, as she tapped buttons on the remote-control app of her data pad. “Usually it’s the job of our main farming AI to keep all the stations working and survey the correct plowing, seeding, watering and harvesting processes in all the fields we’ve seen so far. This machine alone can take care of a field this big by itself all year long, with help of the UV lamps and automated showers you see up there. But the fact that they can handle themselves doesn’t mean this equipment doesn’t need us; we take care of the machines. We make sure they are always in working order and make upgrades to them whenever new technologies are approved.”

The kids started talking to each other, excited. Cortana felt relieved.

She tapped the green button labeled START CYCLE S022DF10082558 on the app and the machine’s engine revved with a thunderous sound as the sowing heads approached the ground. The massive vehicle moved forward and entered the field, when the sensors picked up fertile soil the heads began to stab the ground at a great speed, depositing seeds with mathematical precision. The kids grew even more enthusiastic, some of them recording the scene with their pads.

But after a few seconds of normal work, the farming station came to an abrupt stop, and both the vehicle’s engine and the UV lights above the field shut down.

One of the teachers gasped and most of the children screamed, scared, suddenly finding themselves in a darkness only broken by the faint glow of their pad’s screens. Cortana felt her heart drop to her stomach. Fuck. Power outages weren’t normal in SHIELD Base, plus, it was very likely that most of these kids had never experienced something like this in their short lives. The emergency lighting took an obnoxiously long time to come online but finally did, granting the underground bunker a very light blue glow. It was enough to see properly but not the same as the imitation of Earth daylight they’ve been working with for the past hours. Besides, the silence had become deeper and ominous, a silence like death. Cortana turned to her pad for answers, but found that she was no longer in contact with the main farming AI. In fact, she had no access to the base’s intranet either.

She crossed a few looks with the teachers, silently understanding they were cut off too.

It was like all connections had been interrupted, along with the electricity.

A worried little girl tugged on Cortana’s coat. “My pad doesn’t work, Miss Halsey.”

“We must be experiencing some sort of connectivity failure, sweetie.” She tried to explain, in a hurry. Gently placing a hand on the child’s back, Cortana led her towards the rest of the group. “Please, stay with your classmates and teachers, I’ll fix this very quickly.” Then, she raised her voice to speak to the two adults: “Listen, I’m going to find a terminal, there should be one downstairs by the farming station’s warehouse. I don’t know what went down. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Miss Halsey. You go, we’ll keep them wrapped up.” replied Miss Hakinbo.

The other teacher, Mr. Shinozuka, was already working to ease off the children’s fear. Cortana nodded in appreciation and ran towards the service elevator. She used the manual override to descend the sixty feet that separated her from the ground and hopped out of the cabin by the warehouse.

It was darker down there; the emergency lights were really dim.

A rush of cold made her skin erupt with goosebumps. Trying not to mind the oppressive silence, Cortana ran again towards the other side of the warehouse and found what she was looking for, lockers attached to the concrete wall. She quickly found one that was painted with different colors and pressed her thumb against the scanning pad beside it. The panel cleared her ID and the hatch of the locker opened revealing a screen and a touchpad that unfolded itself towards her, exiting the cavity. As Director of SHIELD Base, she had access to every system, every terminal, every AI and every data pad and comm-port she wanted to peek into, a fact only a handful of people that didn’t live there knew about. She just had to use her master override to claim possession of every nerve and electronic extension of the facility, including the Spartans’ MJOLNIRs if necessary.

The terminal had a ground network connection and about five hours of battery supply left. With her keyword, Cortana accessed elemental system functions and found out that the farming AI was offline, a fact extremely worrisome by itself. The power outage now made sense, all things considered. No AI to survey it meant no power substation online to derive electricity from the reactor. Ninety-five percent of the facilities functioning in that level had most likely ceased operations as well, including all the ventilation systems and the tram. Cortana shivered.

What could cause a system’s crash so bad to force an entire AI to shut down and not just reboot?

“Fine. Let’s ask for help, then.” She decided, out loud, knowing that she couldn’t make the kids walk several miles through the darkness looking for a set of stairs to get back to the upper levels. “Pick up the call, anyone.”

She sent a call request to her laboratories first, but the screen immediately responded with a busy line tone. Someone was making or receiving a call. Far away into the darkness of the crop fields, something metallic dropped from a very tall height and crashed on the ground, making a scary noise. The kids cried out in fear, making her even more nervous than the distant racket. Cortana reacted to a shot of adrenaline and impetuously tapped into the laboratories’ surveillance subsystem, accessing the cameras.

She was angry and scared, and wanted to see who the fuck was using the line while she tried to reach them. One by one, an array of eight video feeds came online before her eyes, _only to show her a macabre scene…_

Cortana took a step back, unconsciously, and covered her mouth with both hands.

From five different angles, she distinguished massive blood splatters all over walls and equipment; red, sticky pools here and there on the floor, various remains of clothes and a few severed human limbs lying around, ghostly pale against the vibrant deep carmine of the blood. For a few minutes, she couldn’t make out what she was seeing. Her stomach didn’t hold for long, she dropped to her hands and knees and vomited on the freshly plowed dirt. She’d never been one to feel uncomfortable or reject the sight of blood or mangled bodies, it was part of her work, but such scene repulsed her so deeply that she couldn’t stand it.

She tried to focus on breathing and calming her nerves. After a while, it worked.

Cortana managed to get back on her feet, shaking, and forced herself to analyze the feed.

Was SHIELD Base under attack? It appeared so.

Aliens or rebels? She didn’t see residue of plasma weaponry, or projectiles of any kind. It had to be aliens. The human rebels didn’t need to make such a gory mess to prove their points. The alien tribe of the Jiralhanae, on the other hand, were fond of dismembering and eating their human prey. The UNSC had underestimated them for years and paid a price for it, the Brutes were smart and gutsy motherfuckers.

 _‘How did they manage to find this place?’_ she thought, shocked.

Now it made more sense that the AI went offline. There were no Smart AIs on SHIELD Base, and the dumb ones they had were programmed to disconnect and defend themselves like a sea urchin if the integrity of their systems was threatened. It was also possible to shut down an AI manually, straight from the information core.

Maybe the information core didn’t exist anymore. She felt her stomach clench again.

“Oh, shit.” Cortana murmured, still paralyzed. “I can’t tell this to the kids.”

The first thing that came to her mind were the Spartans, mostly John. She wished he was alive and well, perhaps fighting back with all his heart and might, but unharmed. Maybe she could send him a message…

“Miss Halsey?” came the shout from upstairs, a man’s voice. Mr. Shinozuka.

“I’m fine! I found the terminal!” she yelled back, trying not to give away her panic.

“What do we do now?”

“… I’m still working on it, please hold on!” her answer was sharp and straight.

In theory, she was certain about what to do next; it was standard protocol. She knew she needed weapons and she knew where to find them, but she also knew that her duty was to protect the children at all costs. She had to hide them, and she already knew where to do that. She had to reach the Spartans, or anyone, without getting caught by the invaders, and let them know they were down there. Then, she had to wait for orders or rescue efforts. It seemed easy, in theory. In practice, and although she considered herself a brave woman, she was scared shitless and wasn’t sure where to begin.

Survival instinct overcame fear slowly. John’s voice inside her head did all the trick:

_‘Take them somewhere safe. Get the guns. Contact me.’_

She nodded, acknowledging an order nobody gave her.

Cortana’s powerful mind focused immediately, it was working at full speed to come up with a plan when something else distracted her. The video feed of the emergency terminal came to life again, an unfamiliar shape was creeping slowly across the lab floor. She came closer and saw a strange purple-ish creature that resembled a beaten-up squid walking on its tentacles, not bigger than a house cat… the thing stopped by one of the pools of blood and began to feed from it, groping a severed hand with its tentacles. Another little freak, this one with green streaks across its bruise-colored body, came to feed from the blood too.

She felt the urge to vomit again, but managed to prevent it on time.

It couldn’t be. No, no, no…

 _Flood infection forms._ Of a class and shape she’d never seen before. Something wasn’t quite right about them, these were way smaller than the usual and of a different color, all the tentacles had feathered tips and little hooks in disguise. Maybe it was a different strain of the Flood, older or newer, what other explanation did she have?

The creatures weren’t any less aggressive and virulent than the usual, it seemed.

But, where did they come from? How did they make it so far into the facility, so fast?

Cortana stopped breathing for a few seconds, trying not to succumb to panic again.

“Oh God.” the words dropped from her trembling, dry lips. “They must’ve been dormant inside the object...”

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

_Oh my oh my oh my oh myyyy!!! D8 OMFG!!! I know, I know. It sounds a little bit dumb, dumber than the beginning of your average zombie movie, but this is the motherfucking Flood we’re talking about here! This will be a very important battle, both physical and emotional for John and Cortana alike! Stay tuned for more gore and panic and fear to come, this is it! This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! The road to the end of this story, stronger than ever! See you next month! *gives away tons of good luck kisses* Don’t forget to talk to me and tell me what you think! Love to hear your theories :3_


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